Climbing the many stairs at Fenwick is a rite of passage upon arriving freshman year, but it is much more than just that— it is a stairway to fitness and a path to world championship competition! There are 7 flights of stairs at Fenwick, each ranging from three to to five stories in height. With each step, these long stairwells help to strengthen our leg muscles, especially our quadriceps.

The stairs of Fenwick can even be form of cross-training. Sophomore Maria Quinn, varsity runner for the girl’s cross country team, explained that she uses the stairs at Fenwick as a way to get a second workout in her day, along with the team’s after school run. “The stairs help to get that extra edge on the competition when it comes to race time,” said Quinn. She claims the stairs are also very helpful when it comes to running up hills because the stairwell from the cafeteria to the west wing has taught her how to push through the constant climb.

One great example of how the Fenwick stairs shape the quadriceps of tomorrow is a little known story about 2017 Fenwick graduate Andrew Morrissey. As Morrissey climbed the Fenwick stairs, he developed a love for stair climbing that he hadn’t found in any other activity. His legs were also the strongest they had ever been. Andrew wanted to find more ways to get involved with stair climbing, so he researched and learned about the sport of competitive stair climbing.

Andrew trained after school for four hours each day, climbing up and down the link stairs 50 times. He followed this workout with squats and other leg strengthening exercises. His hard work paid off when he was able to qualify for the Skyrunning World Championships as part for Team U.S.A. Although Worlds didn’t go as he hoped due to a tough collision between Andrew and a Swedish climber, which resulted in a fall down 42 flights of stairs, he insisted it was a great experience. Thanks to the Fenwick stairs, Friars like Morrissey and Quinn have been able to find themselves at the pique of femoral and crural strength.