March 13, 2020

#188: Tricia O'Hara --Running the Empire State Building & The Adventures of an Elite Stair Runner

45 minutes

Tricia O'Hara loves stairs. Running them, climbing them, the feeling of floating up them to the top of a building using nothing but her body and a ridiculously hard, pure anaerobic effort. In fact, she loves them so much that she has become one of the elite stair runners, athletes who travel around sprinting up the most famous buildings in the world.

Over the last six years, she has climbed stairwells in the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, the Freedom Tower, and Rockafeller Center. Along with stair climbing, she has been a lifelong endurance athlete participating in many marathons and triathlons ranging from sprint distances to Ironmans. She has also battled a fear of swimming and a serious injury where she was hit head on by a truck and was told to be uncertain about the possibility of running again.

She's awesome! She demonstrates positivity, passion, and the grit to endure such an explosive, high energy sport!

In this episode we chat all about her adventures into stair climbing! Why does she love the sport and what has she learned about herself through these challenges? What is it like to be at the very top of such iconic buildings like the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower? What mental tricks she has to push through the wall when she is completely out of breath and physically exhausted? Tricia also explains what a Redbull 400 is and it blows my mind! (and no..it is not a 400 mile race...which is where my ultrarunning mind went to right away)

Hope you guys enjoy the show!! Huge thanks to Tricia for sharing her story and to my cousin Susan Nowell for setting up the interview!