“The knowledge that the physical well-being of the citizen is an important foundation for the vigor and vitality of all the activities of the nation, is as old as Western civilization itself. But it is a knowledge which today, in America, we are in danger of forgetting.”
— President John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy’s words were spoken more than a half century ago, but his exhortation is yet to be fully heeded. The average level of physical fitness in America, which many considered low when he spoke those words in 1962, has declined.
At the same time our attention is being outsourced to digital screens and retail mega-chains. Even running races are increasingly managed by companies that charge high entry fees and leave behind large environmental footprints— with little involvement of the locally rooted, personally invested, joyously connected culture of family, friends and neighbors.
It’s time to take back our communities.
As a physician, I’m keenly aware that the medical community, too, needs to step out of the hospitals and reach into our neighborhoods and backyards. We need to be accountable to the needs of the people we serve, and treat patients as members of a healthy community, not as victims of diseases. We must build a culture of physical activity. Although most patients are aware of the benefits of daily exercise, it’s up to us to move them from wishful thinking to a practical reality. Public health happens in the community, not in the doctor’s office.
Many folks in our home state are not optimal specimens of health, and I don’t think many of us look upon running as a source of joy. The rest of the country isn’t doing much better. The developed world has become a culture without movement and much of the developing world is following this lead. Too many of us share the goal of avoiding exercise and unnecessary activity, and we’ve largely reached that goal by successfully engineering much of the movement out of our lives.
In 2009 our community set out to change that. We began to offer running workshops, community fun runs, and (with a dedicated band of fellow volunteers) large running events.
Throughout, we’ve been motivated by the simple desire to see folks get outside and start enjoying physical activity— and bring their friends and family along for the ride. Healthy living is not a spectator sport.
This effort birthed Freedom’s Run: An Event for Health and Heritage— an annual citizens’ run that has triggered a shift in our local culture by reconnecting children and families to nature and fitness.
The Freedom’s Run team has been lending support to growing numbers of regional events, and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia now hosts more than 20 running races each year (up from only four 15 years ago).
Freedom’s Run has raised over $300,000 for local health, history and heritage initiatives. We have partnered in funding 12 school fitness trails, a 2.4- mile trail around Hite Road Park and a program called Canal Classrooms, which brings fourth graders to the C&O Canal Visitor Center in Williamsport, Md., for a day of outdoor, place-based learning. We also fund a program which doubles SNAP benefits at our local farmers markets. Healthier food is critical staple for vitality.
Everyone is welcome to come out Oct. 12 for the one-mile fun run, 5K, 10K, half marathon or marathon, and each year 1000 participants from at least 40 states join in.
Most important, all of these events, races and running groups are fashioned around a spirit of collaboration — a convergence of kids, socializing, connection and community well- being.
Participants share a feeling that we’re all in it together, that together we can reclaim our fit, healthy lives.
WANT TO RUN? Freedom’s Run on Oct. 12 is marking its 15th year this fall. Besides the full marathon, the series includes a half marathon, the 10K, the 5K and the one-mile kids fun run, all ending in downtown Shepherdstown. Learn details, sign up to volunteer or get registered for one of the races at FreedomsRun.org. We have a special discount for youth!
– Dr. Mark Cucuzzella lives, practices medicine, and runs daily in Jefferson County