Healthy turnout for inaugural 5k event

By Mr. Matt Decker (Leonard Wood)August 14, 2014

Healthy turnout for inaugural 5k event
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

About 130 runners and walkers of all ages turned out Saturday morning at Davidson Fitness Center for the inaugural 5k for Fun, Fitness and Health.

Created by Col. Andrew Herbst, Fort Leonard Wood Garrison commander, and sponsored by Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, the free event was open to the public, and let participants complete the course at their leisure.

It was the first in a series of five monthly 5k events that will continue through the remainder of the year.

"You can run it, you can walk it, you can crawl it -- however you want to do it," Steve Richardson, FMWR Community Recreation Division chief, told participants before the event got under way.

Capt. Matvey Vikhrov, 50th Multi-Role Bridge Company commander, 5th Engineer Battalion, was the first runner to cross the finish line with a time of 16:31. He was one of about 20 50th MRBC Soldiers taking part in the 5k.

"For the past three months, we've been doing fun runs like these every Saturday starting at 08:00 -- we just meet over at Abrams. This time, our group decided to join this to support the new Garrison Commander's initiative," Vikhrov said.

Jessica Niemiec Tobergte was the first female runner to cross the finish line with a time of 22:05. She and her husband, Louis Tobergte, both lieutenants currently going through the Chemical Basic Officer Leaders Course, said they would definitely participate in future events in the series.

"I'm here for BOLC, and I enjoy running race. I thought it was a really good course," she said.

Several participants, like Dean Kucera, were accompanied by furry friends on leashes -- in this case, his dog, Danny.

"This is really going to be a fun thing to do," Kucera said just as the race began.

Kirsten Ouimette said it was precisely "dogs and strollers" that brought her Family out to the 5k. She pushed her 8-month-old daughter, Cara, in a stroller as her husband, John, walked their dog, Luna, around the course.

The 5k series is designed to fit into two Army initiatives: the Army Performance Triad, which stresses healthy activity, nutrition and sleep, and the Soldier for Life Program, which aims to prepare service members for a lifetime of healthy living. Herbst also wanted the series to to promote Family fitness as a way of combating childhood obesity, and was pleased with the turnout for the inaugural event.

"For the parents out there, thanks for setting a good example for your kids and showing them what right looks like," Herbst told participants before the race as he thanked them for coming out. "This is exactly what I envisioned when we were discussing and putting this thing together," he added.

Both before and after the race, participants could visit a mini health fair with displays about health and wellness information.

"Skin cancer doesn't discriminate -- even famous people can get skin cancer," Maj. Irene Reyes said as she held up a magazine featuring former presidents and skin-cancer survivors George W. Busch and Bill Clinton. Ryes and others with General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital's Community Health Research Center also passed out questionnaires and distributed sunglasses.

"We went to the skin-cancer (booth), because we get burned sometimes," Niemiec-Tobergte said. "It was interesting, and they gave out some information about the pharmacy, too, which was nice."

At the next table over, Sgt. Anwar Ibrahim with the Medical Department Activity's Environmental Health office, informed visitors about the health dangers posed by ticks and mosquitos, which are prevalent in Missouri.

"We're trying to put it out there that there are ticks around here, and give people ways to avoid being bitten, to clear them from your backyard and from around your house," Ibrahim said. "We're showing people the proper way to remove ticks ways to prevent lyme disease and West Nile virus."

Meanwhile Capt. Clay Conner and Spc. Robin Jones talked with participants and distributed children's toothbrushes at the Dental Activity table.

"We're trying to promote oral health care. It's an area of health that many people neglect, and we're trying to spread the word about how important oral hygiene, oral health and oral medicine are to our overall health and well-being," Conner said.

Future 5k events in the series, which are scheduled for Sept. 13, Oct. 11, Nov. 8 and Dec. 13, will likely have different health information and may have different formats. Participants were strongly encouraged to provide feedback and ideas during the event, and can do so by taking an online survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/5KSoldier4Life. Richardson said participants' input will help FMWR make improvements and could result changes to future events.

"To me, feedback is the most essential part of this, because this is the community's event. However they want to do it, we would like their information," Richardson said.

(Editor's note: Robert Johnson, Fort Leonard Wood deputy Public Affairs officer, contributed to this story.)

Related Links:

Fort Leonard Wood GUIDON Newspaper

Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood