Partnerships help Madisonville get healthier

Two new programs are emerging from the Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation’s partnership with Interact for Health and Go Vibrant, as a 5K training program and walking routes will soon be part of the neighborhood’s effort to get out and get active.
 
MCURC and Interact for Health are creating a training program to help participants prepare for the neighborhood’s third annual 5K run/walk, scheduled for Sept. 12. The twice-weekly coordinated group walks and runs will be lead by experienced trainers and will start with 1-mile routes, with the distance gradually increasing throughout the summer.
 
Sessions are open to anyone who wishes to participate, which will allow people to exercise in a group setting with others from the neighborhood, with no experience required.  
 
MCURC hopes to increase the number of 5K participants from 140 to 240.
 
“We hope that the training program turns into a more permanent part of the neighborhood’s community life,” says Sara Sheets, executive director of MCURC. “It would be great to continue the walking and running groups after the 5K. We also hope we can grow the 5K ever year. We want to keep enticing more and more Madisonville residents to take part in a healthy and fun event, and it has the potential to grow to include more health-related initiatives.”
 
The partnership with Go Vibrant will allow MCURC to install visible, marked walking routes throughout Madisonville on 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-mile routes. The routes will be available on printed maps as well as online and will include historical points of interest in the neighborhood.
 
“I can imagine linking the routes with potentially new routes in nearby communities like Oakley, Hyde Park, Mariemont and Fairfax, which would create a robust system of pedestrian routes on the East Side,” Sheets says.
 
In 2012, Madisonville’s Quality-of-Life Plan called for the promotion of walking, hiking, biking and other physical outdoor activities in the neighborhood as part of its health and wellness strategy. Along with the 5K and the walking routes, the development and promotion of the Little Duck Creek Trail is progressing, and this winter the neighborhood hosted Family Fitness Fridays at the Madisonville Recreation Center to encourage families to play together. The next of these events is March 13.
 
This summer, there are plans for Tuesdays in the Park at Bramble Park to further encourage healthy living.