PRESS RELEASE: May 5, 2010 @ 4th Annual “Mothers Day 5k - Celebration of Active Generations”

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gary Westlund@aol.com 612-245-9160 May 5, 2010

St. Paul, Minnesota – May 5, 2010 – Charities Challenge, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, announces its 4th Annual “Mothers Day 5k - Celebration of Active Generations” and 1.5 Mile Family & Friends Fun Walk as an occasion to “Honor Moms with the joyful heart-health benefits of RxExercise walk or run” on Sunday, May, 9, at Como Lake, St. Paul, MN.

The theme is “Celebration of Active Generations” emphasizing and celebrating the irreplaceable health and happiness benefits of regular exercise, and the power of exercise as a prescription (RxExercise) to improve the quality of all lives, especially the lives of those challenged by a variety of chronic diseases like arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, and honoring the principal health leadership of active moms in the lives of their children and families.

For more information and to register online go to www.CharitiesChallenge.org

Race-day registration opens at 7:30 AM Sunday, May 9. The timed 5k on a USATF certified course and the simultaneous 1.5 Mile Family & Friends Fun Walk will start at 8:30 AM. Pre-registration is $24; race-day registration is $30.

Race day registration is at the lakeside pavilion on Como Lake, off of Lexington Avenue, includes Mothers Day celebration atmosphere, commemorative “Mothers Day 5k – Celebration of Active Generations” shirt, refreshments, motivational music and professional announcer, photography and unique post-race online slideshow, official race results by WayzataResults.com, and convenient, free parking.

Charities Challenge Founder and President, Gary Westlund, says, “There is a rare, life-enhancing, even life-giving, gift some of us can give to busy moms: the gift of our time walking or running by their side. Sharing the gift of our own time in enjoyable exercise, walking or running, with someone we love is a gift that improves the quality of each of our lives.

Mothers Day is a special occasion to add a new family tradition: Celebrating moms who have led their families in being exercisers, benefiting those of us so fortunate to have such strong moms. All participating mothers and grandmothers will be honored and recognized at the Mothers Day 5k”.

Charities Challenge each year honors remarkably active moms who deliver inspiring RxExercise leadership to their children, family, friends, and communities.

This Sunday, CC will recognize Carrie Tollefson of St Paul, Olympian athlete and new mom as of 6 weeks ago, as the 2010 Mothers Day 5k “Honored Active Mom”. Carrie writes, “I am just starting to train again and plan on making it back to the Olympics in 2012 not only as one of the best runners in the world but as a mom. How cool. We are most proud of our recent accomplishment of having our first baby, Little Ruby Anne. She will be just over 5 weeks at the race and is doing great. She let her Mommy workout hard everyday of her pregnancy and is so excited to be participating in her first race at Como Lake for such a great cause.”

Learn more about Carrie Tollefson's remarkable athletic career and follow her progress toward her inspiring 2012 Olympics goal at http://globalathletics.com/Athletes/carrie_tollefson.php

Past “Honored Active Moms” of the Mothers Day 5k – Celebration of Active Generations” events who are returning this year are:
Jeanne DeMartino of Roseville, MN, and Corey Johnson of Woodbury, MN, in 2007; twin sister moms, Judy Meyer and Joan Wilson, in 2008; Patty Gaffney of Champlin, Amy Kohout of St Paul, in 2009.

See "Miles of Smiles" photos slideshows from past Mothers Day 5ks including images of the above Honored Active Moms and their children at CC's Holiday Events Photos Galleries http://charitieschallenge.org/html/cc_event_photos.html

As “More than a Survivor” of breast cancer for over seven years, Charities Challenge Coach Jeanne DeMartino co-wrote the “Top 10 Reasons to Walk ‘n’ Run with Moms at the Mothers Day 5k”, highlighting the irreplaceable life-enhancing and life-saving health benefits to moms of regular exercise http://charitieschallenge.org/Top_10_Reasons_to_Walk_or_Run_with_Moms_on_Mothers_Day_c.pdf

Jeanne now reports, “Recent research revealed a 40% reduced risk of death from diagnosed breast cancer among women who were exercisers prior to and beyond their breast cancer diagnoses. Given my cancer challenges, I’m so glad that I was and continued to be a regular exerciser and race walker.

Everyone who comes to Como Lake on Mothers Day to enjoy the benefits of a brisk 5k will especially enjoy applauding and cheering all the Moms who will be celebrated by their families at the Mothers Day 5k”.

Charities Challenge is an active partner with the American College of Sports Medicine’s ongoing ‘Exercise is Medicine’ campaign because lives, especially health-challenged lives, are improved every day through regular exercise.

Charities Challenge Mission: To Improve Health/Fitness, Reduce Health Risks, and Enhance Disease Management via Goal-oriented RxExercise Training Programs, Engaging Events & Active Community Partnerships...Because there is NO CURE for all the ills associated with lack of exercise…except RxExercise!

For more information, contact Charities Challenge President Gary Westlund at 612-245-9160; GaryWestlund@aol.com. # # #

Easter Sunday - Rise 'n' Shine 5k Race Results/Photos/Story

Charities Challenge's Easter Sunday 5k continues as “The Only Easter Sunday Road Race in Minnesota” and the only timed Easter Day road race we know of in America! The ES5k was the 4th of CC’s 11 Holiday Run Events for 2010, emphasizing the Power of RxExercise to improve lives and even relationships every day, and especially so on sometimes stressful holidays. Yes! Exercise is powerful, happy medicine, as seen in the “Miles of Smiles” online slideshow http://www.charitieschallenge.org/cceventphotos/2010%20Holiday%20Run%20Series/

For Easter 5k race results go to http://wayzataresults.com/roadraces/2010/EasterSunday5k/index.html
Online registration for the unique 2011 Easter 5k (4th Annual) is already open via Active http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1852144&assetId=ccbf1d01-f8a6-4ee6-a13e-123c7dd3eb54

Charities Challenge's 3rd Annual Challenge Easter Sunday – Rise ‘n’ Shine 5k served over 200 to a sunny Sunday RxExercise experience of a timed 5k and fun 1.5 mile fitness walk, representing a 30% growth over 2009 Easter Sunday 5k!

Thanks to all the CC Race Event Workers (CCREW) volunteers:Don & Meredith Soule, Laura Westlund, Kent Spellman, Mary Riches, Jason Denen, Tom Ruen, Kim Fealy, Mike Vangsness, Jeanne DeMartino, Bridget McClatchey, Hetvi Damodhar, Rick Recker, and racer-turned-course-marshal, Andrew Hanselman. GO CCREW!

Thanks, again, to 2010 Holiday Run Series KIND Sponsors, David & Pam Glass of Black Bear Crossings Café, the California Dried Plum Board, and continuing “Thanks!” to artists Matt Hammer and Laura Westlund for our evolving festive Easter 5k logo.

Additional thanks to the Easter Sunday 5k Bronze Level Sponsor financially supporting the event, Dr Carron Perry, D.C., of the BodyMind Chiropractic Center at 1150 Montreal Avenue, St. Paul. Learn more about Dr Perry’s practive at http://www.getwellstpaul.com/

And, thanks to professional timer/scorer/records-keeper, Josh Gerber of http://www.wayzataresults.com/ and pro-announcer, Gaylen Morse of Morsound, for making our St Pat’s 5k a classy, first-class racing experience for over 200 participants. About 20% of the participants were first-time racers who we hope will keep up all those happy steps, partly as a consequence of how they enjoyed Sunday’s experiences.

Next up, please join the active fun at Como Lake on:
1. Saturday, April 17, for the 5th Annual Challenge Obesity 5k - Celebrating Effective RxExercise, and the RRCA MN State 5k Championship http://charitieschallenge.org/html/challenge_obesity_5k.html

2. Sunday, May 9, for the 4th Annual Mothers Day 5k – Celebration of Active Generations http://charitieschallenge.org/html/mothers_day_5k.html

Keep on "Actively Celebrating Life"!

A special thanks to Coach Rick Peterson, and CC Racer/Leader, who before his church services came to Como Lake to deliver a brief but memorable Easter Sunrise devotional for many of the CCREW volunteers to enjoy before we went to work setting up for the race. Wow! What a brilliant way to see an Easter sunrise together remembering the first Easter “race to the tomb” that Rick brought to life for us. Ours may be a unique Easter Sunday road race, but as Rick reported, “That was the first Easter race”, that so many of us are still celebrating. Watch for next year’s Easter 5k to include an open invitation to everyone who may want to come early to enjoy Coach Rick’s reprise of this new Easter Sunday 5k tradition: Easter Sunrise devotional from the perspective of those of us ready to run our way to “Celebrating Life”!

The Most Potent Prescription (Inadequately Filled in Americans)

The Most Potent Prescription Inadequately Filled in Americans:
RxExercise
Gary Westlund, American College of Sports Medicine Certified Health Fitness Specialist

We’re hearing and reading every day about prescription drugs and health care challenges in America. What we’re hearing and reading about prescription drugs includes their high cost to consumers, to insurance companies and HMO’s, to the government and taxpayers, and that not everyone who may benefit from a prescription drug is getting their prescription filled.

What we hear less frequently, but is important to know, is that not every drug is effective in everyone’s experience who uses them. That’s right. Prescription drugs are often effective for only 30-70% of patients who use them, regardless of their cost.

And, sometimes we’re reminded that prescription drugs often have unintended ill side effects in the patients who use them. In rare cases, those ill effects kill.

Yet, on balance we’re much, much better served by having the prescription drugs than not having them. Otherwise we wouldn’t be so concerned about their cost or how to get more of them. Modern pharmacology has improved the quality of many, many lives.

Take the drugs your doctor prescribes for your special health needs. But, don’t neglect the growing medical recommendation to fill your exercise prescription, your Rx Exercise. There is no prescription drug that offers the potency of exercise to keep us healthy, reduce or eliminate serious disease risks, and even help manage some chronic diseases.

Many drug prescriptions would never even have been needed for individuals if only they had first and regularly filled their own exercise prescription. Many drugs for a variety of “lifestyle” diseases would not be necessary if our behaviors had kept us healthy and fit.

Many individuals have reduced or eliminated their drug prescription dependency by changing their lifestyles[1].

Healthful lifestyle requirements include (1) stress management, (2) exercising and (3) a balanced, nutritious diet.

So what is this about exercise as a prescription? Rx Exercise?!

Yes, exercise is an old, old prescription for health maintenance. The exercise prescription is as old as the ancient Greeks. This knowledge about exercise as a prescription for good health was largely lost until the last century.

But, since about the middle of the last century, scientific studies and knowledge about the benefits of exercise was renewed and greatly enlarged.

Today we know that exercise may be the most potent prescription we can each fill every day.

The exercise prescription is more generally powerful and effective for good health than any prescription drug.

“If I told you that I had a formula that would help you live longer, avoid-and even cure-some diseases, relieve stress, and make you stronger with virtually no bad side effects, you’d probably be willing to pay a lot of money for it…what if I told you it was free?...The truth is, I do have a formula like that…the formula is physical activity-simple exercise”[2]

What is the Rx Exercise formula that will help most of us enjoy better health, disease reduction and even some better disease management? At least 30 minutes of moderately vigorous activity (like brisk walking), at least three times per week will help begin delivering many of the benefits mentioned in this article.

What do we know about the benefits of adequately filling the Rx Exercise?

While we cannot say that someone who fills their exercise prescription will definitely live longer, we can almost certainly say that they will live better. This is what we refer to as “Quality of Life” issues.

Here’s a partial list of observed and reported improvements among regular exercisers’ Quality of Life:
Greater sense of psychological well-being
Enhanced mood
Mental stress management
Anxiety reduction
Feeling more energetic
Greater productivity
Improved relationships
Better sleep quality
Improved self-esteem
Improved body image

Beyond QOL benefits, here are the commonly observed improvements in the physical condition for those who fill their exercise prescription.
1. Improved cardio-vascular fitness – better heart/lung function
2. Improved muscular strength and endurance
3. Improved fat to lean body mass ratio (Body Mass Index-BMI)
4. Improved bone density
5. Improved blood lipid profile


What about preventing serious diseases by filling one’s Rx Exercise?
Here’s a partial list of scientifically demonstrated benefits of adequately filling our Rx Exercise in preventing a variety of serious disease risks:
1. Coronary heart disease
2. Colon cancer
3. Type 2 Diabetes (Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus - NIDDM)
4. Osteoporosis
5. High Blood Pressure
6. Obesity
7. Depression alleviation/prevention

And, it is in just the last few decades that we have begun to observe and learn about the therapeutic benefits of an Rx Exercise appropriate to those already diagnosed with challenging diseases. Here’s a partial list of those benefits to special populations of filling their own Rx Exercise to help better manage their disease:
1. Heart Disease
2. NIDDM
3. Improved Quality of Life for those living with or beyond:
a. Arthritis
b. Asthma
c. Cancer
d. Diabetes (Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus – IDDM & NIDDM)
e. High blood pressure

Lastly, aging itself is a passage in life with a wide variety of increasing challenges: physical, emotional-psychological, and social. We now refer to aging as a choice between “Usual Aging” and “Successful Aging”.

The most important part of aging is internal, not external. Most of us only see and “treat” the external signs of aging, and miss the most potent age-slowing choices.

Usual aging is what we usually see among our family and friends as they move through the decades of aging beyond age 30, into the 40s, the 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond. Usual agers tend to be focused on the external “therapies” of attempts at appearing more youthful.

Successful agers are focused on their inner person, both physiologically and psychologically/emotionally.

Successful aging is what we witness in those who are more than just apparently younger than their years. Through exercise and training, successful agers actually have maintained very important physiological functions that allow them to function at even age 70 as well as many who don’t exercise who are only 40. They actually have cells that are livelier, energy-producing, and healthier than the usual agers. This doesn’t happen by accident, but by choice.

Some of these physiological functions, like VO2Max (the maximum oxygen that one’s body can utilize during physical work or exercise), reflect in very significant ways just how alive and youthfully vigorous we are decline by about 2% per year after about age 30 in the sedentary population. But, VO2Max and other functions have been observed to decline by only ½% per year after age 30 among those who regularly and effectively fill their Rx Exercise[3].

We each have a choice, a challenge, to live as well as possible. We can choose to age usually or we can choose to fill our Rx Exercise, staying vigorous and functioning at a higher level well into advanced years of life, avoiding many serious diseases, and better managing any bad diagnoses, like arthritis, that may come along.

So, what is the Rx Exercise good for?
It’s good for (1) staying healthy, (2) reducing the risks of a variety of serious diseases, and even for (3) better and more happily managing a variety of challenging chronic diseases.

Have you filled your Rx Exercise today?

Consult your physician before beginning or increasing your own Rx Exercise activities.

And, consult your physician before ending or stopping your Rx Exercise regimen. Quitting exercise is dangerous to your health.

Note: As many as 60-70% of Americans are not filling their Rx Exercise adequately. It’s been estimated that as much as half our medical care dollars are spent on avoidable “lifestyle” diseases. (Lifestyle diseases, including heart disease and NIIDDM, are those highly related to the risks of physical inactivity, smoking, and poor dietary behaviors[4].)

Other Notes:
Physical Inactivity and Poor Diet Growing Threat to Americans' HealthDeaths in the U.S. due to poor diet and physical inactivity rose by 33 percent over the past decade. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death.Source: "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000" released in 2004 by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


[1] Researcher Stephen Turner, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, reports, "Of course, if more people lost weight with diet and exercise, their blood pressure would drop, their lipids would improve, and their risk of diabetes would decrease without the need for this type of (cholesterol lowering) drug," From WebMD article of June 28, 2004.

[2] _The Exercise-Health Connection_ page 3 by David C. Neiman, DrPH
[3] Dare to Be 100 by Dr Walter Bortz
[4] Dr Walter Bortz in his video “Health Wealth: Spending Health Dollars Wisely”

Join CC RxExercise Ambassador Team to Dublin Marathon

Join Charities Challenge RxExercise Ambassadors A-Team today and travel team expenses paid to the Dublin Marathon, Oct 25, 2010!

Primary A-Team Travel Dates to Ireland Oct 21-27.

Join CC’s Dublin A-Team between March 17-31, 2010 for a
Lucky $500 Fast Start to Travel Team Expenses paid to Dublin!

(Dublin Castle, Photo by GaryWestlund/CharitiesChallenge)

*Early Bird Special! To help get the Dublin Team moving forward, A St Patrick’s Day Irish Blessing…
Join the Dublin A-Team starting on St Patrick’s Day, Wednesday, March 17, through March 31, 2010, and receive a $500 Early Bird CC reduction in your fundraising goal, leaving only $3000 to go after joining the Team with your $150 A-Team Member registration fee. (CC will provide training & fundraising leadership for success!)

To join CC’s Dublin A-Team today by calling
Certified Coach Gary Westlund 612-245-9160 or go to

http://www.charitieschallenge.org/

Join online via Active.com http://www.active.com/running-membership/anoka-mn/dublin-marathon-rxexercise-ambassadorship-by-charities-challenge-2010-sl480 or by mail today…to be in Ireland in October!

We “CC A-Team Dublin Early Birds” will begin gathering together @ 6 PM on Wednesday’s, March 17, 24, and 31, at Como Lake, St Paul, MN:
1. Fun CC Team Training Times (open to all CC Members)

2. Happy Dublin A-Team Travel Planning
3. Pleasant A-Team Post-training social time after 7 PM

(Above: Glendaloch, near Dublin,

Below, Cliffs of Moher, West of Ireland;

Photos by Gary Westlund/Charities Challenge)

CC Coach Gary Westlund has coached hundreds, helped with fundraising, and traveled and travel

planned, for 5 Charities Teams to the Dublin Marathon and excursions throughout Ireland in the past 10 years, and happily looks forward to introducing many more RxExercise Ambassadors to beautiful Ireland.

Happy St Patrick's Day and Claddaugh Ring Irish Traditions: Friendship-Love-Loyalty!

March 14, 2010 - St Patricks Irish Traditions 5k

CC's 2nd Annual St Patrick’s Irish Traditions 5k, “Celebrating Active Friendship-Love-Loyalty” at Como Lake, St Paul, MN, Sunday, March 14, tripled in size and success.

Our 2010 St Pat's 5k was the 3rd of 11 Holiday Run Events presented by Charities Challenge in 2010, where we celebrate the Power of RxExercise to improve lives and even relationships.

Race results, which will be kept at CC’s web site, are available at http://wayzataresults.com/roadraces/2010/StPatricksDay5k/index.html

To find St Patrick’s Irish Traditions 5k musical slideshow go to http://www.charitieschallenge.org/cceventphotos/2010%20Holiday%20Run%20Series/

Notice the Holiday Run theme repeatedly seen in the slideshow: “Miles o’ Smiles”, because RxExercise does improve lives and relationships!

I was particularly cheered by the images I saw, and some that I was lucky to capture with my camera, of families and friends sharing their Friendship-Love-Loyalty, the Irish Traditions of the Claddagh Ring, ‘round Como Lake.

I so enjoy seeing so many active, loving family-friends sharing happy-healthy walking/running activity on and around special Holidays, smiling, laughing, dancing, singing and hugging, because of shared RxExercise.

Thanks to all the CC Race Event Workers (CCREW) volunteers who make CC Event so enjoyable for so many others:
Jeanne DeMartino, Don Soule, Mary Pat Flynn, Laura Westlund, Kent Spellman, Mary Lunzer, Karen Kinnear, Bridget McClatchey, Mary Riches, Jason Denen, Amy Kohout, Rick Recker, Scott Beesley, and racer-turned-course-marshal, Andrew Hanselman. GO CCREW!

Thanks, again, to 2010 Holiday Run Series KIND Sponsors, David & Pam Glass of Black Bear Crossings Café http://blackbearcrossings.com/ , and the California Dried Plum Board.

Additional thanks to Bronze Level Sponsor financially supporting the event, Ann Larkin, Xango Independent Distributor http://www.annlarkin.mymangosteen.com/distributors/annlarkin/contact.asp

(Ann is a happy runner who ran the 2002 Dublin Marathon as part of a charity team coached by CC Coaches Gary & Jeanne!)

Thank you to music-man Sishir Chang of The Serfs http://www.myspace.com/mnserfs for live music, and graphic artist/illustrator Laura Westlund for her lovely Irish Traditions honoring shirt logo design.

And, thanks to professional timer/scorer/records-keeper, Josh Gerber of http://www.wayzataresults.com/ and pro-announcer, Gaylen Morse of Morsound, for making our St Pat’s 5k a classy, first-class racing experience for over 300 participants. 20% of the participants were first-time racers who we hope will keep up all those happy steps, partly as a consequence of how they enjoyed Sunday’s experiences.

Next up, please join us for
1. The 3rd Annual "Easter Sunday – Rise ‘n’ Shine 5k" on Sunday, April 4, at Como Lake, the 4th of 11 Holiday Run Events. http://charitieschallenge.org/html/easter_sunday_rise__n_shine_5k.html
2. The 5th Annual Challenge Obesity 5k - Celebrating Effective RxExercise, and the RRCA MN State 5k Championship http://charitieschallenge.org/html/challenge_obesity_5k.html

Keep GOING IRISH…All the way to Dublin, Ireland in October!
Keep walking & running, and stay motivated by joining our RxExercise Ambassador Team to the 2010 Dublin Marathon, taking advantage by tomorrow, Wednesday, March 17, St Patrick’s Day, with the St Patrick’s Irish Blessing special “Fast Start” special promotion.

Join the CC Dublin Team by tomorrow and receive a $500 credit toward your fundraising goal of $3750 total needed to travel expenses-paid http://www.active.com/running-membership/anoka-mn/dublin-marathon-rxexercise-ambassadorship-by-charities-challenge-2010-sl480

Charities Challenge will help Dublin Team Members achieve both the training and CC fundraising goals to allow each RxExercise Ambassador’s CC Team Member’s expenses-paid travel to a grand finish line in Dublin. I’ve coached hundreds of others to 5 Dublin Marathons, and I’m eager to introduce many more to Ireland’s grandest marathon experience. Join CC’s Dublin Team now and run Ireland in October, 2010! http://charitieschallenge.org/html/cc_traveling_rxexercice_ambass.html

Keep up your daily RxExercise, live well, and meet life's challenges with more strength and happiness.