thedrifter
03-13-07, 05:30 AM
Cathedral City track to test fitness of young, old
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, March 12, 2007
By STEVE MOORE
The Press-Enterprise
CATHEDRAL CITY - President John. F. Kennedy didn't mean it as a challenge.
But in 1963, many Americans took it as one.
"I think most Americans are so weak, they can't even walk 50 miles within 20 hours," the late president said.
Many got blisters proving the president wrong.
Next fall, some seventh-graders at James Workman Middle School will face their own physical fitness challenge.
Fifty students in a new program will be asked to walk 90 miles over six months around a new track next to their school. They'll also work out several times a week at exercise stations around the walking fitness track.
Cathedral City Mayor Kathleen DeRosa, 61, remembers the 50-mile hike craze during the Kennedy era.
She hopes the new facility opening in August at the 30th Avenue Soccer Park will boost physical fitness today. It's open year-round for the public.
"We hope this challenge will get people excited and they will step up," DeRosa said. "A healthy community benefits everybody."
The track at the new facility is a little over a mile long and has five exercise stations.
Mitch Nieman is the city's development project manager for the project.
"We want to promote a healthier, more active lifestyle that will follow these kids through adulthood," he said.
The program will help students at risk for diabetes and heart disease, said Joan Boiko, a spokeswoman for the Palm Springs Unified School District. The criteria for selecting students is still being developed.
The exercise program replaces a student's typical physical education class.
More than 40 years ago, Kennedy got the idea of 50-mile hikes from an old presidential order dating back to Theodore Roosevelt's administration.
In 1908, Marines loaded down with their packs made 50-mile marches, double-timing the last 700 yards.
In the early 1960s, Kennedy vowed that if modern-day leathernecks could meet the challenge, he would test the physical fitness of his usually sedentary White House staff.
Kennedy's brother, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, walked 50 miles in leather oxford shoes.
But the hoopla quickly prompted a news release by The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
The announcement said walking is good exercise, but should begin with a moderate, gradual program. And officials emphasized they weren't giving rewards for completing 50-mile hikes.
The president laid the groundwork for his physical fitness drive with two essays in Sports Illustrated: "The Soft American" and "The Vigor We Need."
Today, a $350,408 grant through the Desert Healthcare District covers construction costs for the walking fitness track, exercise stations and three years of program administration costs, which will also include 50 adults selected by city officials on a first-come, first-served basis, Nieman said.
Desert Regional Medical center will screen participants for weight and body mass.
A new law authored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, requires that school districts provide parents -- starting in 2010 -- with information about Type 2 diabetes. It's the most common form of the disease where the body either doesn't produce enough insulin or cells ignore the insulin.
Reach Steve Moore at 760-837-4417 or stevemoore@PE.com
Ellie
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, March 12, 2007
By STEVE MOORE
The Press-Enterprise
CATHEDRAL CITY - President John. F. Kennedy didn't mean it as a challenge.
But in 1963, many Americans took it as one.
"I think most Americans are so weak, they can't even walk 50 miles within 20 hours," the late president said.
Many got blisters proving the president wrong.
Next fall, some seventh-graders at James Workman Middle School will face their own physical fitness challenge.
Fifty students in a new program will be asked to walk 90 miles over six months around a new track next to their school. They'll also work out several times a week at exercise stations around the walking fitness track.
Cathedral City Mayor Kathleen DeRosa, 61, remembers the 50-mile hike craze during the Kennedy era.
She hopes the new facility opening in August at the 30th Avenue Soccer Park will boost physical fitness today. It's open year-round for the public.
"We hope this challenge will get people excited and they will step up," DeRosa said. "A healthy community benefits everybody."
The track at the new facility is a little over a mile long and has five exercise stations.
Mitch Nieman is the city's development project manager for the project.
"We want to promote a healthier, more active lifestyle that will follow these kids through adulthood," he said.
The program will help students at risk for diabetes and heart disease, said Joan Boiko, a spokeswoman for the Palm Springs Unified School District. The criteria for selecting students is still being developed.
The exercise program replaces a student's typical physical education class.
More than 40 years ago, Kennedy got the idea of 50-mile hikes from an old presidential order dating back to Theodore Roosevelt's administration.
In 1908, Marines loaded down with their packs made 50-mile marches, double-timing the last 700 yards.
In the early 1960s, Kennedy vowed that if modern-day leathernecks could meet the challenge, he would test the physical fitness of his usually sedentary White House staff.
Kennedy's brother, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, walked 50 miles in leather oxford shoes.
But the hoopla quickly prompted a news release by The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
The announcement said walking is good exercise, but should begin with a moderate, gradual program. And officials emphasized they weren't giving rewards for completing 50-mile hikes.
The president laid the groundwork for his physical fitness drive with two essays in Sports Illustrated: "The Soft American" and "The Vigor We Need."
Today, a $350,408 grant through the Desert Healthcare District covers construction costs for the walking fitness track, exercise stations and three years of program administration costs, which will also include 50 adults selected by city officials on a first-come, first-served basis, Nieman said.
Desert Regional Medical center will screen participants for weight and body mass.
A new law authored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, requires that school districts provide parents -- starting in 2010 -- with information about Type 2 diabetes. It's the most common form of the disease where the body either doesn't produce enough insulin or cells ignore the insulin.
Reach Steve Moore at 760-837-4417 or stevemoore@PE.com
Ellie