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DURHAM — Touché Howard stepped up big time Wednesday night.
The Durham city firefighter climbed to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City as part of a “race” for charity.
It was no cakewalk, but the 50-year-old made it up all 1,567 steps without collapsing.
In an interview Thursday, Howard was still fired up about meeting the challenge.
“Well, I made it,” he said. “That’s the good part. I made it in 34 minutes and 45 seconds.”
The Empire State Building Run-up drew more than 500 runners from around the world to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
Howard was the only firefighter to compete wearing firefighting gear and using an air pack.
When he got to the 40th floor, he was joined by two good friends who have supported him all the way — his battalion chief, Scott Roberts, and his captain, Stephen Whitt, both from the Durham Fire Department’s Station One. Roberts and Whitt walked with him from there to the 86th-floor observation deck.
Howard said the run-up started about 9:15 p.m. At the 62nd floor, his air pack was depleted and he started breathing normally the rest of the way.
“I was definitely out of breath, and there were times when I had to stop and breathe hard and get going again,” Howard said. “It was terrible, but it was about the level of terribleness that I had prepared for.”
When Howard arrived, he was met with applause by several racers who stayed to congratulate him. He downed an energy drink and a protein bar, and took a deep breath as he watched a light snow fall.
Howard’s efforts raised more than $30,000 for the foundation that does research on myeloma, a blood cancer. He said meeting people from the foundation and those affected by the disease has been an inspiration, making all the sweat and training worthwhile.
But Howard is already looking to the future.
Next month, he plans to climb the 66 floors of the Rockefeller Center, also in New York, to raise money for multiple sclerosis research.
