By JARROD POTTER
STEP-BY-STEP, flight-by-flight, Keysborough’s Aira Abarra hopes to knock off the Eureka Climb at the Eureka Tower.
Abarra, 19, will tackle the Eureka Climb on Sunday morning – attempting to summit the 1,642-steps to the top of the Melbourne’s skyscraper.
Running alongside training partner and friend Leroy McLennan also participating, Abarra hopes to knock off the run without stopping to walk in any section of the climb.
“Getting through it without having a walking break is what I’m going for, but there isn’t really a set time I’m aiming to finish in,” Abarra said.
“Should be interesting.”
Instead of taking the clanking elevators inside Monash University’s Menzies Building on the Clayton campus, Abarra has taken to walking the flights of stairs in preparation for the Eureka Climb, on top of her regular running sessions.
“It was just a bit of a novelty event – I’m not really a runner, I usually just do little events like five or 10 kilometres and this is a lot more of a challenge,” Abarra said.
“I haven’t been to the Eureka Tower before, but this should be fun.”
All eyes will be on the Victorias Emergency Service Challenge – with defending champions Melbourne Fire Brigade aiming for back-to-back wins over Ambulance Services and Victoria Police.
Last year’s Eureka Climb raised over $308,000 for disadvantaged young people at home and abroad for the event’s charity partners Whitelion and Interplast Australia and New Zealand.
