Your Next ‘Around the World’ Fitness Journey: Empire State Building

In the next fitness challenge, which begins May 4, Duke staff and faculty are invited to tackle the New York City building via flights of stairs

A graphic for Around the World challenge

Theresa Shouse doesn’t like taking the elevator if she doesn’t have to. She once got stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes in a Chicago high-rise when she was a kid and she’s preferred the stairs ever since.

Whether Shouse, a Research Administration Specialist, is climbing up to her fifth-floor office in downtown Durham’s Mutual Tower or encouraging colleagues to traipse up three floors to events on Duke’s campus, taking the stairs has become a habit.

“Now it’s just a matter of keeping track of it,” said Shouse, 65.

That habit will serve Shouse well as the latest edition of the Around the World challenge tackles the Empire State Building.

Registration is open for Around the World, which begins May 4. Organized by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, the challenge asks participants to log 166 flights of stairs throughout the month, the equivalent of climbing 1,454 feet to the top of an iconic New York skyscraper.

Theresa Shouse
Theresa Shouse says she is a frequent participant in LIVE FOR LIFE activities, such as the Around the World challenge. Photo courtesy of Theresa Shouse

Everyone who completes the challenge by May 30, an average of six flights of stairs a day, receives a medal.

For Shouse, who has participated in previous editions of the challenge, the Empire State Building stop feels like a natural fit. She's been there before, and she's been climbing stairs for years without being asked.

The Around the World series of challenges asks Duke staff and faculty to set activity goals tied to the distance or height of a well-known landmark during a monthlong challenge. The program runs each fall and spring, tackling two landmarks per year. In last year’s inaugural year, participants were asked to climb the 124 flights of stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower and walk 204,750 steps around the perimeter of Nantucket Island.

Shouse appreciates the accountability of the LIVE FOR LIFE program. Though she tracks her steps with a Fitbit and participates in the Duke Run/Walk Club, setting goals and friendly competition pushes her further than she’d go alone.

"I find that if I'm challenged to do so many steps a day, I want to make the goal," she said. “I find that it has kept me active.”

Plus, the added challenge of tackling global landmarks through stairs and steps has been motivating.

“There’s something inspirational about it,” Shouse said.

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