BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Tunnel to Towers 5K returns next month. Wednesday night, about a dozen firefighters and members of the military trained for the annual event while wearing 60 pounds of gear.
"Firefighters have to fight in all weather. Rain, snow, shine, doesn't matter. So, for us to get out and run in the rain, it's a little cooler than it was earlier today, so we're okay with that, but it's one small thing that we can do," Christine Belus said.
Belus is part of Team Red, White and Blue, which is a not-for-profit that helps veterans. She is coordinating next month's Tunnel to Towers 5K. She also coordinated Wednesday's practice run around Delaware Park.
"Just to see everybody willing to throw on up to 60, or so, pounds of gear just for one small taste of what firefighters go through, whether you run or walk with all that gear on, it's a lot," Belus said.
Brian Guy is the co-race director. He is also a firefighter and is proud to help coordinate a race that honors fellow firefighter Stephen Siller who was killed on 9/11. The name of the race honors the path Siller took to the Twin Towers.
"He grabbed his gear, ran through the two-mile-long tunnel, which goes under the East River to Manhattan, and ran to the World Trade Center where he died in one of the collapses," Guy said.
The run raises money to build homes for wounded veterans. There are 60 of these runs across the country. Jeffrey Gray with Team Red, White and Blue is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He said practicing helps get people's energy up for race day.
"It's wonderful. I mean, if we had a little better weather, we might have had a few more people. But hey, I don't think any of those guys on 9/11 thought about what the weather was like, they went in like it didn't matter. They were just there to save lives and do their job," Gray said.
The race is September 8. This year, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is building a home for a local husband and wife who are both U.S. Marine Corps veterans.