Resolution Run designed to help get the New Year started off right

Resolution Run designed to help get the New Year started off right

By Community Impact Newspaper Staff Friday, 02 January 2009

Austin Mayor Will Wynn and members of the Mayor's Fitness Council today joined a number of Austinites for a run around Lady Bird Lake.

"To eat better and get more exercise are two of the most common New Year's resolutions that people make," said Wynn. "What better way to get started down the path to successfully implementing at least one of those resolutions than to participate in the 2009 Resolution Run?"

Now in its fourth year, the Resolution Run was created to help draw attention to Mayor Wynn's overall goal of making Austin the fittest city in the country by 2010. That goal was also the driving force behind the creation of the Mayor's Fitness Council in 2004. Since that time, the Mayor's Fitness Council has been promoting programs that inspire Austinites to become more active and lead healthier lives.

"Something that is precious to all of us is our health," added Wynn. "This past year has thrown a lot of things our way that we have had little control over. Just look at the economic situation we currently face as an example. But, the foods we choose to eat and the exercise that we get - that is something we all have control over."

Most recently, the Council has turned its attention to area organizations in an effort to provide employees an avenue for improving their personal health and fitness at their worksites. To date, eight Austin-area entities have been recognized as Certified Partners of the Mayor's Fitness Program. They include the City of Austin, Austaco Ltd., Eckert Insurance Co., Live Strong Foundation, Omni Austin Hotel Downtown, the Seton Family of Hospitals, Silicon Laboratories Inc., and United Way Capital Area.

These organizations range in size from eight to several thousand employees and have a combined outreach of more than 20,000 individuals.

On Jan. 13, the Mayor's Fitness Council is hoping to grow that number significantly through the 2009 Active Texas Summit: Strategies for Health and Fitness.

"This summit hopefully will raise awareness and give public entities some solutions so we can start to have an impact on lowering the cost of health care by lowering the need for health care," said Mayor Wynn. "In the end, though, it's all about people making healthier choices – whether individually or at their workplace. That's why the MFC is doing a number of different programs, like the Summit and the Resolution Run. Through these efforts, we will make a difference and help Austin become the fittest city in the country by 2010."