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OPINIONS
Editorial: Recent marathon shows that we can do it
The sixth annual Marshall Marathon is held on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Huntington. The 26.1-mile race course took runners through downtown past Pullman Square, along the Ohio River, and through Ritter Park.
Purchase this photoIt was a field of 336 athletes that in 2004 took part in the first running of what would become the Marshall Marathon.
It began as the HealthyHuntington.org Marathon, the brainchild of local family medicine physician Dr. Tom Dannals. Over the next six years, the event took on the Marshall name and grew and grew.
Sunday's marathon drew 1,100 participants, who ran the marathon, half marathon, team relays or walked. About 400 of those ran the full 26-mile course.
The fastest time came from the Tri-State's own John Davis, who also won in 2005. The 25-year-old Marshall University and Spring Valley High School runner finished at an impressive 2 hours, 43 minutes and 56 seconds.
The event also drew runners from as far away as Texas and South Carolina, with quite a few from Kentucky and Ohio -- adding a little tourism for the area, as well. But from the beginning, the marathon has been about the importance of exercise and charting a healthier course for our region.
For many people that may not mean training for next year's marathon, but it does mean doing something.
The Center For Disease Controls most recent survey showed that about 30 percent of West Virginians and Kentuckians said they did not participate in any physical activity during the month. Ohio was a little closer to the national figure of 25 percent, still a sorry commentary on lifestyles today.
The good news is that exercise opportunities abound in the Tri-State, and the number of programs and initiatives grows every day.
In a year where Huntington and the Tri-State has taken its lumps for high obesity rates and other health problems, the success of the marathon and growth of health activities makes an important statement for the future.
We can change those statistics.
