Thousands Participate in Tunnel To Towers Run

By Idy Perl

Thousands of participants joined the “Tunnel To Towers” 5k walk yesterday to honor the first responders who lost their lives at the Twin Towers attack on September 11th.  

The participants, which included citizens of all ages as well as thousands of firefighters from across the US and NYPD officials, walked and ran in yesterday’s dreary, rainy weather from the entrance of the Battery Tunnel until Lower Manhattan, tracing the footsteps of heroic firefighters and first responders who ran on foot to save lives on 9/11. Since its inception, the annual race has grown from a few thousand participants to an estimated 40,000 runners this year. 

The organization behind the race, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, holds the race to honor Stephen Siller, a firefighter who lost his life saving people on 9/11. 

“He just finished his night tour in Squad 1, and he was almost at the Verrazano when he heard on his radio that the towers were hit,” Frank Siller, a brother of Stephen, says. “He turned around because that’s what first responders do, right? That’s what our military do; they run towards the danger. And he went back to his firehouse, he got his gear. The tunnel was closed for security reasons, so he steals 60 pounds to gear on his back, think about it, and he makes that heroic run, and while saving others, he gives up his life.”

The foundation also assists veterans and first responders by paying off their mortgages and most recently paid off the mortgage of the late Officer Jonathan Diller, who was shot this past March while conducting a routine traffic stop in Queens.