Healthy Strides Community 5k/10k Race and Expo

About the Program

Category: Parks and Recreation (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The Fairfax County Park Authority’s Healthy Strides Community 5k/10k Race and Expo are signature events for the larger Take 12 Steps for Health program. Take 12 encourages manageable lifestyle changes to produce measurable health benefits, with one healthy goal per month. The purpose of these events is to educate and encourage use of neighborhood parks for individual, family and community recreation and fitness. This initiative supports the Park Authority’s “Great Parks, Great Communities” agency strategic plan theme, underscoring the importance of parks in building healthy and livable communities. The Healthy Strides Expo features more than 60 wellness exhibitors and interactive learning activities. The Healthy Strides Community 5k/10k race is a professionally-run event. While targeting people in the community who may normally be intimidated to run a race, the race also serves the more avid runners with a USATF-certified 5K course and challenging 10K course. Healthy Strides events have exceeded performance goals of sustainability, outreach and awareness. In its first three years of operation, the race now sells weeks in advance and operates on a direct cost-recuperative basis. More than 20% of participants each year are first-time racers, and the events have created continuing opportunities to communicate the value of parks long after the race and expo.