Imagine lugging half your body weight up Auckland’s Sky Tower’s 1103 steps.
That’s the challenge Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade member Tanya Stone, who’s only 50kg, faces when she competes in the annual Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge today.
She’ll be wearing full firefighting gear, including breathing apparatus (BA), weighing about 25kg.
‘‘I’m not the most comfortable with BA,’’ says the 33-year-old, who qualified as a firefighter in May after eight months’ training and study.
Stone, who’s been in Queenstown for 11 years, says she’s competing as she loves a fitness challenge — ‘‘and once I get a challenge in my head, I can’t shake it’’.
However, she’s also very motivated by the charity the event supports — Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand.
‘‘I don’t think I know anyone who hasn’t been affected in one way or an other by the ‘C’ bomb,’’ she says.
In her case, her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 and her dad with prostate cancer last year, while her aunty/godmother’s battling leukaemia.
‘‘I’ve lost close family friends, and now the ‘big C’ is starting to surface amongst my generation — it terrifies me.
‘‘I just want to get in and challenge myself for everyone who is suffering.’’
She’s also close to meeting her target of raising $1500 for the charity.
As to how she’ll go today, Stone says it’s been hard to train between contracting Covid ‘‘and all the flus and bugs in Queenstown’’, flying to Australia for minor surgery and work commitments.
‘‘I’ll just pace myself slowly, and if I have it in me, I’ll smash out the last few flights.’’
