The 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is coming up, and throughout the country there will be memorials honoring the dead, but Sacramento firefighters ask that locals take the opportunity to come out and run a 5K race for a good cause.

Through a partnership between various Sacramento area Fire Departments, the Sacramento Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department and more than 2,000 local volunteers, a 5K run/walk has been organized as an addition to their third annual 9/11 Memorial Climb, in which 343 firefighters – the number of New York firefighters killed on 9/11 – climb the Renaissance Tower in downtown Sacramento to honor fallen firefighters.

Firefighters ascending Renaissance Tower (Image by: provided by Tony Peck) “It’s very personal for the firefighters. You have to be a firefighter to do the climb, and that’s one of the reasons the why the 5K run was developed,” said volunteer Karen Montgomery, a history and geography teacher at Rocklin High School.

“There are so many other people that want to pay tribute to the fallen firefighters and want to be a part of this memorial,” she added, “so it’s a way of preserving the climb just for the firefighters and then having another way of honoring the fallen.”

Twin Towers memorial (Image by: provided by Tony Peck) To take part in the 5K run/walk, it costs $30 to register through Fleet Feet Sports, 2311 J St. Proceeds for the run will go to the Sacramento Area Firefighters Widows and Orphans Fund.

Fleet Feet Sports will coordinate the run/walk. Organizers will provide timers for the racers to carry, and Fleet Feed will track the results of the run.

On Sept. 11 at 8 a.m., 343 Sacramento firefighters dressed in their fire gear will ascend the stairs of the Renaissance Tower, which is 28 stories high.

Image by: provided by Tony Peck They will climb the stairs of the building four times in order to match the height of the Twin Towers, which stood at 110 stories high. Each firefighter will carry a name plaque of a fallen firefighter. There will be a Twin Towers memorial at the end of the climb for the firefighters to leave the names of those who perished.

At 9:11 a.m., the 5K run/walk will begin at Capitol Mall between fifth and seventh streets. There will be two waves of participants, according Montgomery. People who want to run will go first. The second wave of participants who want to walk will follow at 9:21 a.m.

Local Celtic band Stout Rebellion will be performing during the run/walk.

Image by: provided by Tony Peck For non-firefighters, a pre-climb event will be held Sept. 9 in which Sacramento firefighters have invited Good Day Sacramento to preview their climb at The Renaissance Tower.

The preview will also include a performance by pop singer Anna Nalick. Her song “Breathe (2 a.m.) was a radio hit in 2005. She will be in the Good Day Sacramento studio promoting the run.

Nalick is also set to perform at the Tribute in the Park concert after the 5K run Sept. 11 beginning at 10 a.m. Other acts set to take the stage include the country band 27 Outlaws. The singer and guitarist Joel Van Horne of the indie alternative rock band, Carbon Choir will also perform.

Image by: provided by Tony Peck “When you lose a firefighter, it’s obviously a great impact, but when you lose 343 in one day, it’s overwhelming,” said Captain Tony Peck, spokesperson for the Sacramento Fire Department.

“And to think they were doing what we do every day. It’s a stark reminder that although we never want to make that ultimate sacrifice – it’s a reminder that we’re in a line a work where that can happen. It’s very moving for us when 343 are lost in one day and had no idea it was going to happen to them,” Peck said.

At the end of the run, participants will be given a flag, and they will be asked to go to the Capitol and place the flag on the lawn. 2,997 flags will be distributed to symbolize all the Americans who died on Sept. 11.

“As a history teacher and wife of a firefighter, I have a different perspective,” Montgomery said. Historically, it’s important for us to remember these major events and sacrifices that people make. But also, it’s important for our students – our younger generation – to understand what it’s like to live in a post-9/11 world. The events of 9/11 have affected us dramatically. The way we live our everyday lives has really been impacted by security measures that followed 9/11.”

For more information on the 9/11 Memorial Run/Walk, click here.