On Thursday, Oct. 27th, over 150 monsters, ghosts, witches, goblins, zombies, children and adults walked and ran the free Monster Mash Dash 5k community race at Claremore Lake. The event celebrated the finish of the fall 2016 couch to 5k RoCo Fit program and invited residents and surrounding communities. This free program is in its 6th year of success in Rogers County and continues to encourage and promote healthy lifestyles.
A one mile fun run/walk and a 5k run/walk were offered to accommodate all levels of fitness. All ages walked or ran the courses through Claremore Lake trail, encountering all forms of scary things along the way, with many participants and mentors in costumes. Several danced the Monster Mash or Thriller as they made their way across the finish line.
Chameleon Sounds and Tatur Racing graciously donated their time and equipment to add festivity and fun to this event. They started/finished the race, made regular announcements, and played music to keep everyone excited and cheering until the last participant crossed the finish line. Many volunteer RoCo Fit mentors and participants donated their time and supplies. Rogers County Health Department also provided fruit, water, and supplies. Cherokee Nation WINGS provided the ½ way water stop and the Healthy Community Partnership/Volunteers for Youth’s Growing the Good provided t-shirts for the kids as well as medals for all participants. It was truly a fun, free family event!
RoCo Fit will continue providing free opportunities to walk and run for all fitness levels twice a year in Rogers County. MaCo Fit (Mayes Co.), FLOWCo (Washington Co.), and LoCo Fit (Osage Co.) are modeled after this program and will continue offering the same in their communities. This mentored fitness program will begin again in March 2017 for 12 weeks. Each session includes a progressive schedule to allow participants to improve their fitness and health safely and slowly. Educational clinics are offered and presented by professionals covering nutrition, form, gear, safety, injury prevention and strength/cross training. Both sessions host free Mock 5Ks open to the public at the end of each session. This is a free healthy lifestyle program with dedicated and giving volunteer mentors and community members. Spring session registration will open early in 2017 and workouts begin in mid-March. Watch for details on Facebook and www.rocofit.org. For questions please contact Renetta Harrison, renettah@health.ok.gov or 918-341-3166.