He added, “But I really like running the stairs.”

He was a rookie bopper in 2007 yet finished 16th overall with 4 minutes, 41 seconds.

“There’s a fine line between what gives out first, whether it’s the lungs and heart versus the quads and legs,” said race organizer Don Carr of Tuxedo Brothers. “To me, I get halfway up and one starts screaming at you to slow down; it’s either the cardio saying to slow down or the quads saying to slow down.”

The idea for a bop grew as Carr watched the AUL Building (now OneAmerica) being built in the 1980s. Working nearby in the state office building, Carr and a fellow employee wondered whether they could have a race to the top.

At first, AUL said no.

“They envisioned a crazy mass start where 100 people would be bumping into each other,” recalled Carr.

Carr assured them that runners would start individually. AUL suggested that the funds go to a charity. Now, boppers are encouraged to collect pledges for Riley Hospital for Children. In 24 years, the Bop has raised $700,000 for Riley.

As if to make the race even harder on the lungs, some firefighting teams wear their gear weighing nearly 70 pounds. When wearing a breathing apparatus, firefighters learn to use their muscles to draw in air.

“It draws on your lungs something fierce. The burning sensation is like no race I’ve ever been in. You feel it in your hips and gluts,” said Blake Allen, 37, of Anderson.

He’s run as a firefighter and emergency medical technician with a team from the Noblesville Fire Department.

A few years ago, Allen gave up the gear so that he could run with his daughter, Alexis. But then, younger son, Dawson, wanted to go with them.

Last year, Allen carried Dawson on his back in a carrier. Alexis walked alongside them.

“That was the most rewarding one I’ve done so far. Seeing her finish in 13 or 14 minutes, I was very proud of her. She didn’t stop once. We pulled over to the side to let a few people through but she was singing and chanting all the way up.”

This year, Allen plans the same arrangement with 40-pound Dawson in the backpack. Alexis, 11, will be beside them.

“My daughter has coerced a lot of firemen’s kids to run. So we’re going to have eight of the firemen’s kids going up with her,” said Allen.