SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Across the country, gyms welcomed participants to do a memorial climb in honor of the first responders who risked it all during terrorist attacks launched on the United States on September 11.

In Sioux Falls, Crunch Fitness held its version, the Crunch Stair Climb Challenge.

Group Fitness Coordinator Ashley Hartshorn explained, “We open this up to the public so they don’t have to be a member to come here to climb the stairs, we just want anyone that wants to come and pay tribute to the fallen to be able to do that.”

At 7 a.m., Crunch Fitness began the event where participants were challenged to 110 flights of stairs to honor and remember those in the New York City Fire Department who made the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11.

Individuals who embarked on the challenge said that once they made it halfway through, they realized just how difficult it was, but they said they were lucky they did this in athletic clothing whereas FDNY members were in full gear.

For participant Ileen Maxwell, this was a challenge that brought her back to the moment of the attack.

She recalled, “When I was in my late teens so many years ago and I think for all of us who were alive during that time, we still remember exactly how we felt. Just that feeling of being somber and your heart being heavy.”

The Crunch Stair Challenge is free for the public to attend until 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Crunch Fitness instructors said they anticipate seeing more attendants on the stair master, including firefighters dressed in their gear.

“We just want to be able to have a space for our first responders to feel safe, to feel comfortable, that they can come in and out with no strings attached to be able to give back for everything that the fallen have given us,” said Hartshorn.

Those who took part in the challenge will receive a free one-week membership to Crunch Fitness in Sioux Falls.

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