Join Clara Maass for 2K Fun Walk or 5K Run at Turtle Back Zoo

Put your best foot forward at a run and a walk to combat obesity and promote healthy living as part of the LIFELINE CHALLENGE TO HEALTHY LIVING program sponsored by Clara Maass Medical Center at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange on September 29.

This year’s fundraising event includes a 5K Run at 9:30 a.m. and a 2K Fun Walk at 9:45 a.m. The program will be hosted by WABC-TV Eyewitness News Anchor Ken Rosato. Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. is the honorary chairman.

The LIFELINE CHALLENGE TO HEALTHY LIVING sponsors several programs to help people lead healthy, active lives. They include after school activities for third and fourth-graders throughout Essex , Bergen and Hudson Counties; summer programs, Community Health lectures and health screenings, and support for The Weight Loss Institute at Clara Maass Medical Center (CMMC).

“We at Clara Maass Medical Center want to encourage everyone to lead healthier lives through good nutrition and exercise. This family-friendly walk and run at the Turtle Back Zoo is a fun way to get active and enjoy the outdoors while raising money for a great cause, “said Mary Ellen Clyne, Ph.D., President and CEO of Clara Maass Medical Center.

According to the American Heart Association, which classified obesity as a disease this year, up to one-third of Americans, including children, are overweight or obese, a condition that can lead to diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Clara Maass Medical Center is battling childhood obesity locally. Through the LIFELINE CHALLENGE FOR HEALTHY LIVING,  students in 14 local elementary schools danced Zumba, learned martial arts, ran relay races and even grew their own vegetables, as part of learning to make healthy nutrition choices and how to incorporate exercise into their lives.  This year’s program took place at schools in Bloomfield, Belleville, Newark, Nutley , Montclair, Kearny, Lyndhurst, Harrison and North Arlington. 

Besides funding the after-school program, LIFELINE CHALLENGE FOR HEALTHY LIVING also supports providing Automated External Defibrillators on-site at schools and other health-related initiatives and equipment.

Visit: www.claramaaassfoundation.org to register for the Walk or Run on September 29, or to become a corporate sponsor of LIFELINE CHALLENGE FOR HEALTHY LIVING.  Registration fees are $25 per adult and $5 per child, which includes zoo admission. The first 500 people to sign up receive a free t-shirt. Participants who raise $500 and above will be eligible to win prizes that include an iPod shuffle, an iPod nano, and a mini iPad. Sign up today!