Healthy Hearts 5K; Run/walk your heart healthy

Healthy Heart 5K Photo:

Join us for the 1st Annual Healthy Hearts 5K Run/Walk

RUMFORD- The River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition has decided to commence their winter program of Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days with the Healthy Hearts 5K Run/Walk on May 15 here in town.

“We have been thinking of ways to help continue our participants on a path of wellness and at the same time, raise money for our Heart Walk program,” noted RVHCC Administrative Assistant Sandra Witas. “After participating in the Go in the Snow 5K event for Pam Redstone, I realized how many people have chosen running as their new form of exercise. Our group decided that we needed to do something to cater to that category of fitness and pull in more participants to help benefit a great cause. I don't know why we didn't think of it before.”

The 3.1-mile/5-kilometer event will take place through the streets of Rumford on Sunday, May 15. Individuals, families, clubs and businesses interested in walking or running are asked to visit http://www.active.com/running/rumford-me/healthy-hearts-5k-runwalk-2011 or stop by the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition office at 94 River St. for an entry form.

Sponsorships are also available by calling 364-7408.

The first 100 registered will get a t-shirt to commemorate the first, of what is hoped to be, an annual event. Also being given away that day will be hearty bags filled with local coupons and information to help guide you toward a healthy lifestyle.

Participants are encouraged to build teams and wear a unified color, bring your strollers and instill a life-long sense of fitness and health in your youngsters.

Available on race day, for as long as supplies last, will be a seedling ready to be transplanted to your favorite garden spot. What better way to get healthy and continue heart healthy choices through the summer than through the growth of your own vegetables.

The funds raised will benefit the American Heart Association in an effort to support projects like putting up-to-the-minute research into doctors' hands so they can better prevent and treat heart disease among patients. Will help fund groundbreaking pediatric heart and stroke research. About 36,000 babies are born with heart defects each year. Research is the key to saving babies’ lives.

And, last but not least, getting life-saving information to those who need it most. Information that can save a life; like how to eat better, how to recognize the warning signs of heart attack, and how to talk to a doctor about critical health choices.

A few facts about heart disease from the American Heart Association.
Heart disease is killing people from Maine in increasingly frightening numbers. Last year alone, over 4,000 Mainers died from heart disease. That's one in every 330 residents of our state. And more than 25,000 Mainers are living with heart disease. That's one in every 50. Odds are, a few of them are people you know. A friend, a family member, a loved one.
About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association’s (AHA) mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of men and women and the leading birth defect in Maine.
The American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Our mission is to build healthier lives by preventing, treating and defeating these diseases – America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. We fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health.
To learn more or join us in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.