The most unique physical fitness challenge (or friendly fitness walk) in the USA!

This event encourages physical fitness regardless of age, level of fitness, ability and available time. The Bisbee 1000 event allows you to use any combination of walking, running and resting to traverse nine sets of steps and numerous back-roads at a mile-high altitude. While conquering over 1,000 steps you will be serenaded by musicians playing at strategic points along the route (4.2 miles). Participants can compete aggressively for overall and age group prizes; enjoy a challenging fitness walk or family stroll, or any combination thereof (see video).

History of the Bisbee 1000

In 1990, headlines in the New York Times caught the eye of Cynthia Conroy, a new arrival to the charming Arizona mountain community of Bisbee. The Times article reported that Americans were returning to the gyms by the thousands, lured by the latest fitness craze: the newly invented stair climbing machines. At the same time, research from San Diego State University showed that walking upstairs was the cardiovascular equivalent of jogging at 5.3 miles per hour.

Also in 1990, the non-profit Save Our Stairs, Inc., was formed which sponsors the Bisbee 1000, an event that would draw on the resources of this mile high town.

Unique to Bisbee is a system of old and deteriorating stairways that course through its picturesque hills, affording views of the town's quaint houses and colorful gardens. The stairways originally followed the mule paths worn into the terrain during the heyday of Bisbee's copper mining past. To put men back to work during the Great Depression, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) had overseen building of the stairs over those same pathways. Early supporters reasoned that an event that attracted fun-loving and health-conscious individuals from coast to coast had the potential to be a gold mine for this old mining camp. Local business would benefit from the influx of participants from Bisbee and beyond, but equally important is the goal to raise charitable funds for the many unfunded health programs in the schools and for other non-profit programs that encourage healthy living choices.

Word of mouth drew 200 people to the first annual event in October 1991.

Since the first Bisbee 1000, the event has grown each year, both in terms of the numbers of participants as well as the elements of the event itself. 1994 saw the advent of the Ice Man Competition, "an event within the event," which Conroy designed to honor the history of men delivering blocks of ice by hand up the stairs before there was electrical refrigeration. In the Ice Man Competition, entrants vie for cash prizes, racing up 155 steps while carrying a ten-pound block of ice with antique metal tongs. It is as much fun to watch as it is to compete.

The year 2007 brought the annual Made in Bisbee Marketplace, where over 50 artisans sell their wares while musicians entertain the crowds while they watch, shop, eat and enjoy the beer garden and festivities surrounding the finish line of the Bisbee 1000.

It is the Bisbee 1000's broad appeal that distinguishes it from other physical competitions, such as 10Ks and triathlons. Among its ranks are the fiercely competitive as well as those who set a more leisurely pace. The demographics are interesting to observe. Entire families enjoy the event, with babies in infant carriers riding atop their parents' backs. In 2010, an 86 year-old veteran who survived  the Battle of the Bulge during WW II completed the Bisbee 1000, smiling all the way, and enriching the lives with his inspiring love for living. The beauty of this event is that people of all ages and levels of physical conditioning can join in the fun. Beginning in  2011 at the 21st annual Bisbee 1000 we are proud to offer finishing medals to each person who completes The Great Stairclimb. Everyone is invited at noon to the Awards Ceremony where we live up to our best 5k for "fun, freebes, price and scenery” loaded with prizes for amazing categories like: oldest, youngest, largest family, farthest away, costumes and more.

If the Europeanesque charm of Bisbee were not enough to draw you to Southern Arizona, then add the dedicated efforts of the City staff, police and fire departments, musicians serenading on the stairways, and citizens cheering you on your way to refreshing and exhilarating heights in our mile high city where everything is real and you meet yourself at every stair.

Arizona Governor's Award

Board Members