Myriad Participates in Race Commemorating Heroic First Responder’s Route

Tunnels to Towers

On September 11th, 2001, firefighter Stephen Gerard Siller (Brooklyn’s Squad 1) had finished his shift and was on his way to meet up with family. The moment he received word over his scanner that a plane had hit the World Trade Center’s North Tower, he turned around and headed back to the firehouse. After calling his wife, he retrieved his gear from Squad 1 and drove his truck to the entrance of the Battery Tunnel, which had already been closed for security purposes.

Strapping sixty pounds of gear to his back, he raced on foot through to tunnel to carry out his duty as a first responder, and gave up his life helping others at the age of 34. In honor of Stephen’s legacy, the Tunnel to Towers race has become a yearly event where firemen and citizens alike—some of whom carrying 60lbs of gear to further honor Stephen’s heroic actions—run the same 5K route through the tunnel and ultimately to the Twin Towers. Held the last Sunday of September, Tunnel to Towers is one of the top 5k runs in America.

As residents of NYC, this foundation is near and dear to Myriad team members’ hearts. This year, the race had roughly 30,000 participants, including 11 members of the Myriad team. Funds raised by the event benefit programs such as Building for America’s Bravest, a program that builds mortgage-free homes for injured service members, NYC First Responder Fund, which supports the families of first responders who have lost their lives in the line of duty, and the 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit, a high-tech 53-foot tractor-trailer that educate citizens throughout the country about the events of that tragic day.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation holds close to fifty events in over twenty-five states yearly to benefit these programs. Events include communal meals, run/walks, and 102-flight stair climbs to pay homage to the 343 FDNY firefighters, 71 law enforcement officers, and thousands of civilians who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Myriad is so proud of our team that participated in the race this past weekend. If you’d like to learn more about the Tunnel to Towers foundation or participate in an upcoming event, please visit Tunnel2Towers.org.