Thousands Hustle Up The Hancock To Raise Money For Respiratory Health
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The line for the elevators at the Hancock wasn't bad today as four thousand people took the stairs.
This year's Hustle up the Hancock raised more than $1 million for lung disease research, education and advocacy.
The elevator to the top takes 40 seconds Jeff Cook ran up the 1,632 steps in just under 17 minutes.
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It was to honor his mother, who died of COPD, and as part of a friendly competition with his uncle.
The 40-year-old from Ottawa says his time of 16:52 beat his uncle's when he did the climb at age 40 several years ago.
Senator Mark Kirk has done a number of stair climbs since his stroke three years ago.
"There was a time when I couldn't walk and I had to learn how to walk because of rehabilitation and now I am climbing stairs in buildings," Kirk said.
This time he only climbed ten floors, saying the cold weather made it hard to train.
The Republican climbed with a group he calls his "battle buddies", people who have also suffered serious medical issues and are trying to set an example about the importance of physical rehab.
Kirk has introduced a series of bills in the Senate to encourage stroke victims to head back to work like more research on the subject.
He says 900,000 people suffer strokes each year and 75 percent of them don't return to the workforce.
This was the Respiratory Health Association's 18th annual event.
