Climb the Clinic 2019 — unprecedented turnout

Climb the Clinic, an annual fund-raiser sponsored by the Mayo Fellows’ Association, attracted 176 Mayo Clinic faculty, staff, employees, students, residents, fellows, and postdoctoral and research fellows on Saturday, Feb. 2. The event involves ascending the stairs in the Stabile, Siebens, Mayo and Plummer buildings, from the subway level to the top floors. Participants can compete, do it for fun or run as part of a team.

The event benefits the Mayo Clinic HOPE Fund, which provides financial assistance to Mayo patients who need help covering health care-related expenses such as food, lodging and transportation. The Mayo Fellows’ Association donated $2,000 from the event to the HOPE Fund.

Women’s leaders — No. 1 and 2

None of the top women finishers were among the top finishers last year — it was a whole new crop of top finishers.

Clinical nurse specialist Kristina Pearson, APRN, CNS, M.S., was the leader, at 9 minutes, 52 seconds. Cytotechnologist Sarah J. Silber, CT, ASCP (CYTO ’15), took second place among women.

Pearson says she participated because she wanted to try a new activity — something that benefits Mayo Clinic patients. “I was always intimidated by Climb the Clinic — that’s a lot of stairs,” she says. Pearson trained a bit on the StairMaster in the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center. One Friday afternoon before Climb the Clinic, she ran the stairs of the Mayo Building, from the subway level to the 19th floor, to see what she was getting into. “Six flights into that practice, I realized that ‘slow and steady’ really does win the race. Finishing in the top 5 was a huge surprise.”

Pearson says racing the stairways with fellow Mayo employees made the experience unique. “I loved everything — the challenge of the workout, the elation of reaching the top floors of the buildings, walking the halls of the buildings on a Saturday morning and seeing work areas through a different lens, and meeting new people from departments I never knew existed and realizing that Mayo Clinic is even bigger than I imagined. Everyone participates at their own pace — there’s no pressure. I’ll do Climb the Clinic again in a heartbeat.”

Silber, like Pearson, participated in part to help Mayo Clinic patients. She also wanted to test her physical limits as she trains for the Fargo Marathon in May. “I am an endurance athlete but see the importance of high-intensity intervals to help withstand faster speeds for longer durations,” says Silber. This was her first Climb the Clinic event, and she didn’t anticipate being a top finisher.

“Climb the Clinic is a really laid-back event that feels inclusive of everyone,” says Silber. “There’s no pressure to go fast. You can take as many breaks as you want and go as slow as you want.”

Silber and Pearson met for the first time the morning of the event. However, they’d followed each other’s Instagram running pages for more than a year. “We’d messaged each other about meeting early at Climb the Clinic for a warmup job around the subway system,” says Silber. “Climb the Clinic brings people together who might otherwise not meet.”

Top doc

The top-placing physician among women and men was Ann Moyer, M.D., Ph.D. (MCPH ’10, MPET ’10, PATH ’15, MGP ’16), Division of Laboratory Genetics and Genomics, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. Dr. Moyer says colleagues in the Personalized Genomics Lab who were looking for a fun winter training activity talked her into participating.

“I’d done Climb the Clinic several times when I was a trainee,” says Dr. Moyer. “I’d been training for the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama, so I figured running up a lot of stairs would add a little intensity to my marathon training. Even though it’s sometimes difficult to find time for fitness, it’s really important for my mental well-being. Climb the Clinic is fun because you see colleagues and friends you’ve met through the years. It’s inspiring to see people of all abilities doing something challenging. Whether you ascend the flights slowly or quickly, you still climb the same number of stairs. It’s not easy, but it is do-able, and everyone is encouraging.”

Lift-avoider

Myra Wick, M.D. (PHAR ’93, LABM ’94, MED ’04, OBG ’08), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has done Climb the Clinic several times. To train, she avoids elevators at work. “I spend 20 percent of my time in Clinical Genomics on Mayo 19 and 80 percent of my time in OB/GYN on Charlton 3. I try to use the stairs when working between the two areas. Climb the Clinic is a fun event with a strong sense of community. Everyone is kind and supportive, and it benefits a great cause.”

Dr. Wick does wonder how the top finishers among the men get up the stairs of the Mayo Building in less than 2 minutes.

Men’s leaders — brotherly love

Santiago Ocariz, R.N. (NA ’22), a registered nurse and MCSHS Nurse Anesthesia Program student, who won the event in 2017, was the top male finisher this year, with a time of 6 minutes, 11 seconds. His brother, Javier Ocariz-Elsen, a health unit coordinator who won the event last year, placed second this year. (In his defense, Ocariz didn’t participate in 2018 due to a last-minute call to work!)

Placing third among the men was physical therapist Paul Yerhot, P.T., D.P.T., SCS (PTI ’14, PTR ’17), who placed second in 2018.

Top women finishers

• Kristina Pearson, APRN, CNS, M.S., clinical nurse specialist, Department of Nursing
• Sarah J. Silber, CT, ASCP (CYTO ’15), cytotechnologist
• Elissa Hall, health services analyst, Office of Applied Scholarship and Education Science
• Morgan Kocer, M.S.N., R.N., nursing education specialist
• Ann Moyer, M.D., Ph.D. (MCPH ’10, MPET ’10, PATH ’15, MGP ’16), Division of Laboratory Genetics and Genomics, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
• Sarah Schettle, P.A.-C., M.S. (PA ’10), physician assistant, Cardiovascular Surgery
• Lisa Hartzheim, MT(ASCP), education coordinator, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
• Jeryl Mitchell, production coordinator, Media Support Services

Top men finishers

• Santiago Ocariz, R.N. (NA ’22), registered nurse, nurse anesthesia student
• Javier Ocariz-Elsen, health unit coordinator
• Paul Yerhot, P.T., D.P.T., SCS (PTI ’14, PTR ’17), physical therapist
• Eric Pohl, contractor, Sports Medicine
• Scott Marsh, M.S.N., M.B.A., R.N., nursing manager
• Quentin Graham, member services representative, Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center
• Quinten Bissonette, M.A.N., R.N., nursing instructor
• Alan Steichen, security officer

Top team finishers

Sports Med Maniacs

• Paul Yerhot, P.T., D.P.T., SCS (PTI ’14, PTR ’17), physical therapist
• Eric Pohl, contractor, Sports Medicine
• Cameron Bentz, P.T., D.P.T. (PTR ’19), physical therapy resident
• Jennifer Noiles, contractor, Sports Medicine Center

Quadzilla

• Santiago Ocariz, R.N. (NA ’22), registered nurse, MCSHS Nurse Anesthesia Program student
• Javier Ocariz-Elsen, health unit coordinator
• Amah Messan, R.N., CCRN
• David J. Hansen, physical medicine tech, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation