Schaumburg woman to attempt world-record stair climb

Schaumburg’s Kristin Frey, one of the top-ranked female tower runners in the world, will join three others from across the nation to attempt a new world record in stair climbing next month in Florida.

Frey, 28, has been ranked among the top three female tower runners worldwide since 2010 and has qualified for the Boston Marathon 10 times.

On Jan. 4, she and her teammates will attempt to repeatedly climb the 42 floors of stairs at the Bank of America Tower in Jacksonville to raise money and awareness for the American Lung Association.

Their effort is also intended to promote the “Fight for Air Climb Jacksonville” event on Feb. 2.

The two-man, two-woman team hopes to collectively climb more than 5,000 floors over the 24 hours. Success would mean having climbed more than 100,000 individual stairs — said to be the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest more than twice.

All members of the team are elite athletes who are known nationally for their stair-climbing prowess. The other members are Mark Trahanovsky, 53, of Yorba Linda, Calif.; PJ Glassey, 46, of Seattle; and Kacie Fischer Cleveland, 27, of Ponte Vedra, Fla.

“We’re climbing on behalf of those who can’t,” Trahanovsky said in a statement. “The majority of the stair climb races in the U.S. are organized by the American Lung Association, and we’re so thankful for everything they do!”

Trahanovsky is the creator of the USA Stair Climb Association and ranked among the top 50 stair climbers in the world.

Glassey is ranked among the top 10 U.S. tower climbers and is the owner of X Gyms. Cleveland was among the top 10 female tower runners in the world in 2010 and 2011 and recently broke a world record for inline skating more than 2,800 miles across the U.S.