The story behind the Tunnel to Towers 5K
8:47 p.m. July 13, 2025
DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor
The annual Tunnel to Towers 5K in Lynchburg is Saturday, Sept. 6. Launched through the combined efforts of the Metro Moore County Volunteer Fire Department and the Jack Daniel’s Fire Brigade, Lynchburg hosted its first 5K Run & Walk in 2021.
But have you wondered why our first responders – and many others – support the race?
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, 34-year-old FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller had just finished his shift. He was on his way to play golf with his brothers when he heard the call over his scanner: a plane had struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Siller turned his car around and drove back toward the city. But the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel was already closed to traffic. Undeterred, he strapped on 60 pounds of gear and ran nearly three miles through the tunnel – toward the burning towers, toward the chaos, and ultimately, toward the end of his life.
Today, his final footsteps are retraced by tens of thousands every year during the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk, one of the most powerful memorial events in the United States. What began in 2002 with 1,500 participants has grown into a nationwide movement that honors not only Siller’s sacrifice but the heroism of all first responders, military personnel, and victims of 9/11 and its aftermath.
The original 5K route begins in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Runners and walkers make their way through the same tunnel Stephen ran that day – now renamed the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel – and emerge into Lower Manhattan. Along the way, American flags wave from overpasses, bagpipers play in tribute, and signs bearing the names and faces of fallen heroes line the path.
The New York event draws more than 30,000 participants annually, making it one of the city’s most iconic tributes. In 2025, the 24th annual run is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 28, with registration capped to preserve the solemnity and spirit of the occasion.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, created by Stephen’s brother Frank Siller, has taken the mission far beyond New York. The event has expanded into a National Run, Walk & Climb Series, with 5Ks held in cities across the country – and even overseas in London. Since its inception, more than half a million people have participated.
These events do more than honor memory. They raise money for the foundation’s vital programs, including the construction of smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders, mortgage payoffs for Gold Star families and the families of fallen first responders, and support for veterans experiencing homelessness.
What began with one man’s determination to serve has grown into a national promise – to never forget, and to honor those who run toward danger when others run away. From children in strollers to veterans in full gear, the Tunnel to Towers 5K continues to unite generations in remembrance and resolve.
As Frank Siller said, “While we can’t all be heroes like Stephen, we can all do good.” And every September, in cities big and small, tens of thousands lace up their shoes and do just that – one step, one mile, and one hero at a time.
Lynchburg's Tunnels to Towers 5K begins at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 6. You can register at t2t.org. For more information, email lynchburg@t2t.org.
