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For the third year in a row, UA's Office of Health Promotion and Wellness sponsored a 5K (3.1 mile) event to encourage the University community to stay, or get, in shape. This year's competition was Sunday, November 11.
Thirty Community Affairs staff and students participated and all finished the route, with several students completing the distance in under 25 minutes, while others reached the finish line in the 30s, 40s or 50s minutes.
"Community Affairs, by virtue of its percentage of staff entering the competition, has won the previous two 5Ks and in all likelihood," said Dr. Ed Mullins, at 76 one of the oldest to enter the competition, "we won again this year. For getting us to the starting line and encouraging all of us to enter, we thank our team captain, Yun Fu. She nags us sweetly to get us all to participate."
Since September 11, twice-weekly group training sessions were held around campus for the program designed specifically for UA faculty and staff. The program provides tools and resources to help motivate participants to move more, feel better, and improve energy and quality of life.
The purpose of the program is to build confidence in a person's ability, regardless of age, to keep moving, manage or prevent, chronic health conditions, provide a sense of accomplishment, increase energy, control weight, add muscle, help and support others.
Several members of the Community Affairs team said it was one of the most enjoyable University functions they have participated in.
Christi Cowan, a graduate assistant from Birmingham, said, "The event was very well organized, and it was great to have people encouraging us along the way. Kudos to the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness for giving us the chance to do something healthy and uplifting."
"If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great," said graduate assistant Eric Wang from Fushun, China, who said he and his buddies "practice our running under the moonlight while we work and study under the sun."