Let the countdown begin… only 53 more days until the 31st annual Run for the Roses kicks off in beautiful downtown Prentiss, and with temperatures hitting the 70’s this week there truly is no excuse not to start your training if you haven’t already.

Watching the downhill skiing, short-track ice skating and breath-taking ice dancing this week on the Olympics with a bag of cookies in front of me has very quite enjoyable this week, but enough is enough. It’s high time to stretch those muscles and participate in life instead of just watching from a comfortable sofa.

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and high anxiety all have one thing in common: they can all be managed and in many cases cured with regular exercise. Exercise is a choice. So is smoking and taking multiple medications. Feeling good is a choice and so is feeling bad.
Staying healthy is a 365-day-a-year lifetime job, but it does not have to be a lonely or boring job. We are beyond lucky to have an event in our hometown where we can come together and celebrate health and fitness with friends and visitors to our community. Hosted by the Run for the Roses Race Committee, a dedicated group of volunteers, this event is by far one of the most fun runs in our state. The number of visitors who travel to Prentiss each year to participate bears witness to this fact.

It’s your choice: add to the burden of our over-extended healthcare system or make today the first day of the rest of your life and turn over a new leaf of physical responsibility. Use the Run for the Roses 5K Run/Walk as a catalyst to start a walking habit.

Start slow. Walk to the mailbox and back. Pretend the mail has not run and do it again. Park far away the the grocery store door. Chase your dog, play with your kid or pick up sticks in the yard. Move. That’s all. Just move.

See you in downtown Prentiss at 8:00 a.m. on April 12 at the starting line for Run for the Roses.