KES News
Creston Community Strides Challenge | April 1, 2007 - November 30, 2007
By KC Dyer
Mar 20, 2007, 09:30

Have you made promises to lose weight, improve your fitness level, eat better, or quit smoking? If so, the Community Strides program is here to help! Community Strides is a locally developed campaign that will provide you with a fun, easy and FREE way to improve your health (and improve your life!).

Community Strides follows the goals of the BC Healthy Living Alliance which are; reduced smoking, increased physical activity, weight reduction, and healthy eating. As a province, we have made a commitment to improve the health of our citizens by 20% by 2010. Through Community Strides, we intend to lead the charge by walking "around the world" in 2007! That's right, our challenge as a community is to stride (or walk or run or swim or…) the equivalent of 40,000 kilometers (or approximately 45 million steps) over the next eight months. With 100 people walking, just 20 minutes per day is all it will take and we will all feel a whole lot better for doing it!

Community Strides is an opportunity to get going again after a long winter. Being part of the campaign is just the "kick in the butt" I need to get at it. I have to turn back the clock on my physical health or else... "

- local business owner

Do you want to enter the community challenge and improve your life? It's FREE! Community Strides is open to everyone (especially those whose only form of exercise is their trips between the couch and the fridge!). The first 100 to register will receive a Community Strides carry bag containing a pedometer to track your strides, a map of walking trails in the area, a schedule of the program's educational and fitness events, a schedule and log book for weight and blood pressure measurement sessions, a community guide to healthy activities, a water bottle and lots of excellent health publications. You can join our monthly "Walk and Talk" sessions led by community and regional leaders, and you will be able to track your striding activities on this website. You can also challenge other individuals or companies to meet or beat your activity level. We have even arranged discount memberships at local fitness facilities because once you start, you won't want to stop! To get started, keep an eye on the www.communitystrides.ca website and/or see the big ad in the March 29th edition of the Creston Valley Advance.

Community Strides is a partnership between the Town of Creston, the Creston & District Community Complex, Interior Health, the College of the Rockies, and Kootenay Employment Services with primary funding provided by the Union of BC Municipalities' Community Health Promotion Fund.

For more information, please contact Donna Carlyle at 428-5655.