3800 Firefighters, Lung Transplant Patients, Visually Impaired & Weekend Athletes Race Up Chicago John Hancock Center Sunday 2/27/2004
From: Kevin Tynan, 312-268-0225 or 312-659-6884 (cell) or Liz Zweigle Yee, 312-268-0250 or 773-383-7448 (cell), both of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago News Advisory: WHO: Almost 4,000 will Hustle Up the Hancock, in Chicago's most popular stair climb. WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 29, starting at 7 a.m. WHERE: John Hancock Center, 875 N. Michigan, Chicago WHY: More than one million people in the Chicago area suffer from some form of lung disease -- more than 110,000 children have asthma. Firefighters have a high incidence of respiratory disease. Proceeds support the American Lung Association's education, research and community programs including camps for asthmatic children. VISUALS -- INTERVIEWS: -- Steve Ferkau, a double lung transplant patient running to honor Kari, a 17-yr old who gave her lungs to him. Their story is at http://www.ClimbingForKari.com. -- 343 firefighters are climbing 94 floors in memory of fallen NY brethren. -- Participants from ALA's CowaLUNGa event, a 3-day bike tour, dressed in "cow gear" and "herding" to the top! -- Dean Karnazes: World-class adventurer, ultra- endurance athlete (Dean ran 200 miles nonstop, mountain-biked for 24-hours, swam across the San Francisco Bay, ran across Death Valley a marathon to the South Pole). -- Many are facing a personal challenge or honoring deceased loved ones. -- Race is Chicago's only world-class stair climb. -- Representatives of ALAMC can talk about asthma, lung diseases and where proceeds go. -- Representatives from The Hancock Observatory explaining why they support this event. |