Why would someone do this you ask? For fun! OK, maybe a little bit for fun, but also because it was a fundraiser for Special Olympics Iowa. My amazing employer, Two Rivers Marketing, held a fundraising competition. The person to raise the most money got to rappel down the building with about 80 other people. That was me! I have never done anything like this before. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no BASE jumping. The closest thing I've done is gone parasailing. I thought this would be a great opportunity to do something cool and help out a very worthy cause.
I arrived at the Financial Center's 13th floor to check in around 12:40pm. I climbed into a harness, got my helmet and gloves and was ready to go. Luckily, we first got to practice by rappelling down the three story parking garage on the back side of the building. The staff explained the gear and how you move this lever to go or to stop. They explained the back-up system that would engage if something went wrong. I kept telling myself this must be safe because this is the fourth year for the Over the Edge event. It also made me feel better learning that Over the Edge is an actual company that travels the country doing these types of events. When my instructor told me I was ready to go, I climbed up the step stool and stood on the parking garage ledge. She said to lean back; I did. She told me bending my knees is not leaning back and that I would actually need to lean back. Slowly and with a bit of a gasp, I did, and thankfully the rope tightened and caught me. I lowered my butt down until it was parallel with my legs, and then I began to walk down the garage. It was quick and painless. I was ready for the full enchilada.
Or so I thought. Around 3:00pm it was my turn to rappel down the building. I walked to the edge of the roof, looked over the edge, and quickly turned around to get strapped in. The wind picked up, and a little shriek came out of me. I really didn't need any wind right now. I stood up on the edge and looked all around me. It was a beautiful 300 degree view of the capital city. To the east, the Statehouse looked itty bitty, and to the west I could see down to the Ingersoll neighborhood. Only the Principal and Ruan buildings stood taller than me. The "Absolute Building" looked small from my vantage point. After a few deep breathes and "holy moley's," the instructor once again said to lean back; I did. They said to keep going, straighten my legs and relax. This was the most nerve-wracking part because if the harness was going to fail or the rope break, it was going to happen right now. Thankfully, it held. I finally got to the right position and took my first step down. I slowly slid down looking around, taking in the sights and lack of sound, and trying not to freak out. Within a few floors, I got into a groove. It felt exhilarating going down. I continued at a slow pace until my hand started tiring from pulling the lever. I decided to pick up the pace a bit, and it was awesome. With just a few stories to go, they announced my name and I could hear people cheering. Once I had two feet safely on the ground, three Special Olympic athletes handed me flowers and thanked me for my support. That was pretty cool.
The selfish part of me sees this as an amazing experience. The humble side sees this as a reminder of how blessed I am that I can do (and take for granted) things that some of these athletes will never be able to do. The humanitarian in me sees this as a great way to raise $1,000 for special needs kids and adults to live out their passion for sports.