There’s still time to train for ‘Run for King’ By Elsa Baughman
JACKSON — Jane Annette Stevenson takes health and exercise issues very seriously. She trains to walk in marathons and at least once a year participates in one. Right now she is training for her 14th marathon in December (a marathon is 12.2 miles) and coordinating a local run.
“I love it. I love the training,” she said with a big smile. Stevenson is the force behind the “Run for the King,” 5K walk/run, sponsored by Christ the King Parish.
Walking &
Running
tips
1. Make exercise a priority; you deserve to feel good.
2. Ten minutes a day is better than no minutes a day.
3. Record your progress; it’s motivating and keeps you honest.
4. Walking and running three times a week, for 30 minutes or more, reduces risk of breast cancer and heart attack by half and diabetes by two thirds. It also reduces risk of depression, osteoporosis and premature death.
5. Drink water all day; it is hardly ever enough.
6. When buying shoes, pay attention to fit, not hype or price.
7. Find a fitness partner; it is motivating and fun!
8. Diets don’t work, regular exercise does. Always eat nutritious meals and snacks. Limit your sugar intake. Sugar has NO nutritive value.
9. Leave your walkman or ipod at home or in the gym; it’s safer.
10. Missed a workout? Don’t feel guilty, just pick-up where you left off, or start again.
11. Move enough to puff a little and work up a light sweat.
12. Have a goal; it keeps you going and focused. For information call Stevenson, run coordinator,
601-573-0798.
The run is set for Saturday, Oct. 6, beginning at 8 a.m.
Presently she is giving people walking tips and passing out information on how to get fit for the walk.
“This is the third year for the 5K walk/run and every year it is improving,” Stevenson said. The run has a new venue this year due to a construction project at Christ the King Church where the run was held the previous two years. Organizers selected Smith Park in the downtown area as the location for the event this year. The race will start and finish at the park, corner of Amite and West streets.
Stevenson encourages people to get off the sofa, to move, to exercise and to participate in the run/walk. “Obesity is rampant now,” she said, “in children as well as in adults, and people are realizing that and are trying to do better and the best thing to do is keep moving. You have to keep moving.”
She believes exercising is something people must add to their way of life, not something they do once a year. “People have to change their way of thinking and their way of doing things, and this goes for eating as well,” she said.
Stevenson said many people think a 5K walk/run is 5 miles. She wants people to know the run is just 3.1 miles so they don’t get discouraged thinking it is a long distance. “And they don’t have to run,” she added. “The majority of the people just walk.”
The one-mile fun run for children 12 and under will begin after the 5K.
Again this year organizers are offering the “Tot Trot” for children as young as two-years-old. Parents are invited to bring their children if they think their child can run a short distance from point A to B, Stevenson said. It will be held immediately after the one-mile race, around 9:30 a.m. There is no fees, registration, or prizes for the “Tot Trot,” just photos/video opportunity.
Over 100 people from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi participated in the races the first two years. Stevenson said the Mississippi Track Club is directing the race and will include the registration form twice in their newsletter that goes out to all members in the state.
Pre-registration is available until Friday, Oct. 5. Stevenson will be at Christ the King Church that day from 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. for those who want to pick up their registration package that includes a T-shirt.
Pre-registration fees are $12 per person, $60 per team of six to 10 persons, and $11 each per family of three-five members. Late registration on Saturday is $15 per person.
Proceeds will benefit Sister Thea Bowman School and the parish’s community programs.
Organizers are looking for sponsorship of $1,000, $500, $250. “Every little bit helps, Stevenson said. “Nothing is too little or too large.”
Stevenson mentors others who train for marathons. She stresses the fact that no matter how old a person is, if they can walk they can do it. So, she said, “Walk for the King (K for Jesus).”
To get fit during the last five weeks before the run/walk, Stevenson recommends people to walk at least 20 minutes three times a week and increase the time by five minutes every week.
For information call Stevenson, run coordinator, 601-573-0798.
