TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — 40 flights of stairs. For some, its a workout. For those taking part in Troy University’s 9/11 memorial stair climb, every step represented a life lost 25 years ago.

Each year, Troy University holds a 9/11 stair climb in honor of the first responders who worked tirelessly to save victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“I’m blessed that I can walk these stairs and remember the people that lost their lives,” said Patrick Stell, a member of the Air Force ROTC who participated in this event for the first time. “Every step I’m thinking ‘this is for this man, this woman, and I feel greater and greater by each step.

“Through the middle of there I feel kind of weightless, by my 25th lap I feel like that’s a little bit of the pride I feel going up these stairs.”

Some participants carried the weight of the clothes on their back. Others hauled weighted vests, rucks, and real gear, some totaling up to 45 lbs, the same weight as some first responders carried during the tragedy.

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As participants climbed, the physical challenge became more difficult as the flights added up, but so did the significance behind it.

“I think its once you get to the 20th flight of steps you really start questioning why you’re doing it, then you look out, see all the people and remember why,” said Taylor Legnetto, the recruiting officer for Army ROTC.

For the first responders who took part, the climb carried an additional meaning, remembering their own men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while doing their jobs.

“When we go out on a call sometimes, in the back of our head we know that there’s a chance we might not come home after that call and for those guys on 9/11 going into that tower knowing that this might be there last day on earth, that’s bravery,” said Landon Tyler, a fireman in the Troy Fire Department.

25 years later, the climb gave the Troy community a chance to reflect on the people behind the tragedy, and the courage it took to run toward the danger.