Bisbee 1000 The Great Stair Climb

The Bisbee 1000 is a 4.5-mile stair-climb race and fitness walk held in Old Bisbee, a hillside former mining town in southeastern Arizona. It takes place each October, regardless of weather, beginning and ending at 201 Tombstone Canyon Road, near the Miners' Monument, also known as the Iron Man statue. The fundamental challenge is straightforward: ascend over 1,000 steps, connected by twisting streets, without approaching it as a standard road race. The course incorporates nine public concrete stairways constructed to link the lower streets with residences situated higher on the hillside. Several of these were Works Progress Administration projects dating back to the Depression era. The staircases on the route vary in length, from 73 to 181 steps. Both runners and walkers participate, with the event presented as either a demanding fitness test or a casual walk. On the stairways, participants are instructed to keep to the right and overtake on the left, a rule that becomes significant on narrow ascents where open road is absent.