"Strangers you've never met wearing the kit as well, pat you on the back and pass words of encouragement.
"And afterwards you share an elevator with someone else you've never met and one look and they say 'Skytower?', and next you're shaking hands and talking like an old mate."
He checked his beats per minute as he climbed - his heart rate was 168bpm.
There were three from Ashhurst in the team.
"Cameron who for his first year posted a damn good time, and Tyrone who despite some bad luck with his kit, still smashed it."
Marshall took the time to help his teammate and overall his time was 20 minutes slower than the last challenge.
"It's not a timed event for me, it's a let's do this together event."
Once at the top Marshall had another fear to conquer, heights.
But he kept a healthy distance back from the glass floor.
And there's also the lift, suspended at the side of the tower with its views over the Auckland CBD.
Marshall said the team prepared for the challenge at Zenith Fitness and the use of the FMG building stairs.
He's already thinking ahead to 2020.
"Bring it on - I ain't done yet."
+ The Skytower Stair Challenge is in its 15th year and has raised $7 million for Leukaemia and blood cancer NZ.
+ Over 1000 firefighters from New Zealand, Australia, the US, Chile and Germany face the stair challenge.
+At 328m the Sky Tower is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere