OMX Officemax Incorporated

Climbing 1,632 Steps Under 10 Minutes Puts Runners at Top of the OfficeMax Hustle Up the Hancock ITASCA, Ill., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Wonder what can be done in just 10 minutes? Climbing 94 floors of Chicago's John Hancock Center might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but less than 10 minutes is all it takes for the country's fastest stair climber, Terry Purcell, to reach the top in the OfficeMax Hustle Up the Hancock race, to be held on Sunday, Feb. 26. Purcell's mind-boggling feat of climbing 1,632 steps in just 600 seconds inspired the sponsor, OfficeMax(R) Incorporated (NYSE:OMX), to take a fresh look at some other things that can be done in 10 minutes or less. Here's a sample: -- Olympian Chad Hedrick took home the United State's first gold at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino by speed skating 5,000 meters - that's more than 3 miles - in 6 minutes, 14.68 seconds -- Music fans nationwide download approximately 8,680 songs from iTunes(R) -- A race car driver can travel nearly 32 miles in a Lamborghini Gallardo while driving at the car's top speed of 192 mph -- The average person can solve an intermediate-level Sudoku puzzle -- Harry Potter fans snatched up approximately 28,472 copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in any given 10 minutes during the first day of sales -- Cell phone users can send more than 9,512,938 text messages around the world (based upon the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which indicates 500 billion messages are sent per year) -- Ten travelers can make it through security at 7 a.m. on a Monday in Chicago O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 1 (versus Terminal 3 where one traveler often waits more than 15 minutes) -- Visitors to the John Hancock Center can ride the building's elevator up and down 7.5 times -- Four customers can have their printer ink cartridges refilled using OfficeMax's new ink refill system in Chicagoland-area stores -- Guinness World Record holder Jess Bonde solved a Rubik's Cube puzzle 36 times in 2003* "The OfficeMax Hustle Up the Hancock has helped us realize the amount of good that can be done for the community in a short amount of time," said Bob Thacker, OfficeMax senior vice president of marketing and advertising. "We are proud to be involved in this event to raise needed money for the worthy cause of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago." The Chicago world-class stair climb is a vertical hike up the 94 floors of the John Hancock Center. The 94-floor climb sold out this year in a record three hours. This year, for the first time ever, the 52-floor climb sold out as well. A reception at the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago Hotel will immediately follow the race. Proceeds raised through the event will provide financial support for education, research and advocacy programs aimed at preventing asthma and lung disease throughout the Chicagoland area. "We are pleased to partner with OfficeMax again this year and work to improve the health of Chicagoans," said Joel Africk, CEO, the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago. "This event is loved by the Chicago community, and we are proud of the efforts made through this event to help prevent and eliminate asthma and lung disease." The OfficeMax Hustle Up the Hancock is the third-tallest vertical stair race in the country, behind the Go Vertical Sears Tower race and the Step Up for Kids race at the Aon Center, all in Chicago. Here are a few fun facts about the 2005 OfficeMax Hustle Up the Hancock: -- Winning time: 9 minutes, 45 seconds, by Terry Purcell -- Average time for climb: 26 minutes -- Fastest time per floor: 6.3 seconds -- Total money raised: $734,649 -- Oldest climber: 76 -- Youngest climber: 5 -- Number of bananas served during the Hustle: 3,500 About the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago The American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago, located at 1440 W. Washington Blvd, is one of the oldest health charities in the country. For more information call 312-243-2000 or visit http://www.lungchicago.org/ . About OfficeMax(R) Incorporated OfficeMax Incorporated is a leader in both business-to-business office products solutions and retail office products. OfficeMax delivers an unparalleled customer experience -- in service, in product, in time savings, and in value -- through a relentless focus on its customers. The company provides office supplies and paper, print and document services, technology products and solutions, and furniture to consumers and to large, medium and small businesses. OfficeMax customers are served by approximately 40,000 associates through direct sales, catalogs, the Internet and approximately 900 superstores. OfficeMax trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OMX. To find the nearest OfficeMax, call 1-877-OFFICEMAX. For more information, visit http://www.officemax.com/ . (R)Lamborghini and all Lamborghini model names are registered trademarks of Automobili Lamborghini Holding spa (R)iTunes is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. (R)Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation *Based on information provided by Guinness World Records(TM) OfficeMax Contact ALAMC Contact Media Contact Bill Bonner Kevin Tynan Colleen Grams, Bader Rutter & 630 438 8584 312 659 6884 Associates 262 938 5407 First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact: DATASOURCE: OfficeMax(R) Incorporated CONTACT: Bill Bonner of OfficeMax, +1-630-438-8584, or Kevin Tynan of ALAMC, +1-312-659-6884, or Media Contact, Colleen Grams of Bader Rutter & Associates, +1-262-938-5407 Web site: http://www.officemax.com/ http://www.lungchicago.org/

Copyright