Page 44 - June 2017 Newsletter

Worth the climb
Chicago Officer steps up to World Police and Fire Games
n BY NICK SWEDBERG
Most people would look at dozens upon dozens of stairs and bolt for the nearest elevator, but that’s not how Officer Steve Coyne reacts.
“Every time I hear about a climb, I get the urge to do it,” says Coyne, who has spent 19 years with the Chicago Police Department.
Coyne has competed in a number of stair-climbing competitions, many of which honor fallen police and firefighters. In August, he will represent the Depart- ment in the World Police and Fire Games in Los Ange- les, where he’ll take on the 60-story tall Aon Center. It’s a somewhat fitting place to find himself five years after he began his climbing career at the similarly named Aon Center in Chicago.
Coyne got his start there in 2012 when a friend asked him to join a team participating in an event and has been going strong ever since, climbing stairs at the Wil- lis Tower, the John Hancock Center and several other buildings around the country. In 2015, Coyne climbed in the first-ever charity race at New York City’s One World Trade Center. He’s slated to compete in several Sept. 11-related events in the coming months, but the World Games are big on the horizon, with competitors coming from across the country and the globe.
As he usually does, Coyne will bring along his trusty iPod loaded with heavy metal and other high-intensity music for the race. The music, songs he has listened to since he was young, is part of his routine.
“You’re in competition with yourself,” Coyne says. “It’s very difficult, cardio-wise. It’s something that you have to work at. But all levels can do it. You just have to go at your own pace.”
That pace has clearly worked for Coyne—he’s lost more than 50 pounds since he began racing.
Each competition presents its own challenges because every building is different, Coyne says. A building that is only 50 stories tall could be tougher to climb than a 65-story skyscraper, if the stairs are steeper, he explains. Competitors also have their preferences when it comes to climbing. Some might avoid competitions altogether in buildings with stairwells that turn a certain direction or don’t have handrails close together.
“I prefer the stairs going to the right and being able to
grab the rails,” Coyne said.
Coyne has competed in full police uniform at times,
although competitions don’t require it. He also plays the bagpipes, which has prompted people to ask if he would ever do a climb in a kilt.
“My comment is, you don’t want to be the guy behind me if I have the kilt on,” he joked.
Coyne has raised more than $11,000 for charities and is seeking support for more competitions through the Step Up & Give Back charity that he and his wife are starting. A fundraiser for the charity was planned for June 10 in Merrionette Park. d
44 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2017