Gripping the stairwell railings inside the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel on a recent afternoon, Tom Kutrosky ran up the steps two at a time — part of his training for an upcoming race that involves taking on 110 floors’ worth of stairs.
The event, part of a competitive sport that challenges participants to race up skyscrapers, is one of dozens Kutrosky has tackled in the last 15 years.
Kutrosky races up stairs from the beach in Ventura, taking two steps at a time for speed.
“Going up these stairs, you’re doing two at a time, and you don’t have time to think,” Kutrosky said. “It’s exhilarating.”
He’s always looking for new ways to challenge himself. A semi-retired optometrist and longtime Ventura resident, Kutrosky, 90, is participating in stair-climbing races — fast ascents up high-rise buildings — into his 10th decade. He turns out regularly for events across the country and abroad.
In September, he plans to return to the Crowne Plaza for the annual climb, hosted by the Ventura Fire Department, his third time participating. The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb benefits the Ventura Fire Honor Guard, which funds funerals and tributes for fallen firefighters and honors those lost in the Sept. 11 attacks. It’s one of many charitable causes Kutrosky supports through competition.
“I’m able to donate. I’m able to run,” he said. “That’s a pretty good deal.”
From 5Ks to skyscrapers
Kutrosky stands outside the hotel with medals from past stair climbs draped over his arms. It’s just a sampling of the many he’s earned over the years.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
Kutrosky didn’t take up stair climbing until he was 75. He had already spent decades running 5Ks and 10Ks, a routine he started after stepping away from competitive sports. Earlier in life, he played lacrosse at Ohio State, where he earned All-American honors.
But over time, running began to feel monotonous, and he craved a new challenge. Then he spotted an ad for a 75-story stair climb up the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles sponsored by the YMCA.
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At 90, Tom Kutrosky still races up skyscrapers. His lifelong love of movement has kept him going.
Running a 5K or 10K usually took him 30 minutes to an hour, he said. The idea that stair climbing could be quicker — and more intense — is what intrigued him.
“[Stair climbing] is a passion,” Kutrosky said. “To keep my heart going, my whole body going.”
To stay race-ready, Kutrosky trains in a variety of ways, including weekly strength classes at the YMCA in Camarillo. Tanya Stanley, a certified personal trainer and instructor, said she was shocked to learn her energetic student was 90 years old.
“He’s doing all the moves,” Stanley said. “He’s just game for all of it.”
Kutrosky has been attending Stanley’s barbell strength class for years — a class that Stanley said is one of the most physically demanding sessions offered at the Y. Kutrosky’s leg strength, range of motion and upright posture stand out, especially for someone his age, she said.
Stanley often offers easier modifications in her classes, but Kutrosky never takes them.
“He’s an anomaly,” she said. “We have elderly people at the Y. We’re really a mixed group. But he’s in a barbell class. It’s a strenuous workout. … He’s a standout guy.”
Stanley said she often uses Kutrosky as a positive example when encouraging others to take on new fitness challenges. “You could see the wheels going on in their head, like ‘Maybe I could do this,’” she said.
That mindset carries into competition, where Kutrosky suits up with tights, an old race jersey and gloves to grip the railings.
“I don’t have time to think,” he said, referring to the climbs. “You’ve got to stay focused.”
And after a race? He celebrates with blueberry pie.
Since his first race, he’s competed in stair climbs across the United States — in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, Las Vegas, Houston and elsewhere — as well as internationally in Tokyo and Taipei. He has lost count of how many races he’s finished.
For Kutrosky, stair-climbing races in different cities have become more than just a competition. They’ve given him a sense of community. Over the years, stair climbing became just as much about being social and seeing the world as it is about the climb itself.
Douglas Pais, 67, an elite stair climber, met Kutrosky at a race in 2012. Since then, the two have completed dozens of climbs side by side. “Tom is, of course, one of the cream of the crop,” Pais said. “One of the wonderful people [at races].”
In 2018, Kutrosky was invited to race at Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world. He was one of 10 Americans who competed in that stair climb, where he placed 58th. After the race, participants toured Taipei by bus together.
“But it was about being abroad and running with all these people from all over the world,” he said, laughing.
Because of his father’s declining health and death in midlife, Kutrosky said he never could have guessed that he himself would become a competitive stair climber.
“My father died when he was 63, and his family all died of heart disease very early,” Kutrosky said. “I never thought I would live this long.”
The early loss of his father made him double down on preventive health. Exercise, he said, became not just a habit, but a form of protection.
“For being 90 years old,” Stanley said of Kutrosky, “I could only hope … that I live that long, but that I’m also as energetic — just to be able to do half of the things that he does.”
A life in motion — and a family that followed
David Kutrosky, left, looks at his father as the two talk about fitness, longevity and the passion that keeps the elder Kutrosky climbing.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
Kutrosky’s dedication to movement has shaped more than just his routine. It’s defined the way his kids live. “He’s instilled that in his children,” said son David Kutrosky, 61, from San Ramon, Calif. “We’re all still athletic to this day.”
David still plays touch rugby, and he represented the U.S. last year in the 55-and-over category at the 2024 Touch World Cup in England. He said his family doesn’t think of exercise as another box to check off. It’s something they look forward to.
“I take it as a reward,” David said. “We do our chores, work and you get to go run around and chase a ball.”
Kutrosky’s daughter, Candice Kutrosky, 56, is a wildland firefighter for the state of New Mexico. Physicality is part of her job and her daily life. She works out between three and five hours a day and starts every morning with an hour of stretching.
“I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do any drugs or anything like that,” she said. “The adrenaline and the endorphins that I get off of working out and making my body feel good is what I like.”
She said being active is so ingrained that she never really thinks about whether she’ll work out. It’s just part of the day.
“I think he’s got some great genes,” Candice said with a laugh about her father. “I’m glad he passed them down to me.”
Candice said her father has been a good role model in more ways than one — not just when it comes to fitness, but in how he has approached life. She has admired his work ethic, his values and the way he has treated others with kindness and respect. She said she plans to outlive him.
“I’m going to surpass him,” Candice said. “That’s my goal.”
Slower, but still going
Kutrosky walks beside the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel on a sunny afternoon. He’s competed in races at the hotel twice and plans to return for a third climb in September.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
Kutrosky turned 90 in January and celebrated by riding roller coasters with his grandchildren at Universal Studios Hollywood.
People are often shocked to learn Kutrosky’s age and they regularly ask him how he stays so healthy. He credits it to having good genes — and his lifelong focus on preventive care. “I’m huge into preventive health,” he said.
However, in the last couple of years, Kutrosky has noticed his legs slowing and a few signs of cognitive change too. He’s also part of the National Health and Aging Trends Study, which is a cognitive aging study that looks at daily life and function of older adults.
No matter what, Kutrosky, who works a day or two a month as an optometrist at a Target store, looks for new ways to stay sharp. “I hate crosswords,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m trying to work on something to keep my mental capacity going.”
Still, he realizes he’s fortunate. As he has aged, he hasn’t experienced chronic pain and credits that to doing yoga consistently. “I don’t have any pain,” he said. “And I heal easily.”
He encourages older adults who struggle with staying active to start small just as he did — easing into it with a simple gym routine.
He often trains with three men. “We hate going to yoga,” he said, laughing. “But we know it’s good for us, and we have to do it.”
Not every day is easy for him. Occasionally, he wakes up with aches and pains, and on other days, it’s hard to find the motivation to get out of bed.
But he does.
“You have to be motivated and dedicated,” Kutrosky said. “Set a goal … and stick to it, even if you don’t want to go.”
Years ago, he attended a senior event in Ventura where centenarians were asked how they stayed healthy. The answers have stuck with him: Eat breakfast, socialize, go to church, drink coffee, play games.
“There was always something that they were doing that made them live longer and much healthier lives,” Kutrosky said. “That’s what I’m trying to do. All of those things.”
After all these years, which includes stair climbs and blueberry pies, he’s still planning ahead. He’s also gearing up to climb 86 floors of the Empire State Building in New York City in October.
“I got my life planned ahead of time,” he said. “I know what I’m going to do next year and I am planning for that. It gives me a goal, and that’s why I keep going.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
