Run, walk, get well at SRU fair
If you’re looking to get, or stay, healthy this fall, Slippery Rock University is aiming to be your one-stop shop — at least for one afternoon next week.
The University’s 31st annual Healthfest, set to go off from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, is promoting a “run, walk, get well” message this year. The event will include more than 60 health screening stations, information booths and an “In the Pink” breast cancer awareness walk at the Aebersold Student Recreation Center.
The event will offer screenings on nutrition, eating habits, body fat index, blood pressure and depression. Participating vendors include local hospitals, vision and hearing centers, supermarkets and the SRU Student Counseling Center. Healthy snacks and fruit-infused water will also be on hand for visitors.
SRU administrators say the event’s purpose is to highlight the intersection of various aspects of healthy living, and how people can use a variety of methods and focuses to make and keep themselves healthy.
“We’re trying to make people aware of all those dimensions and how those dimensions can be used to increase personal health,” said Brian Mortimer, the university’s coordinator of wellness.
The event’s one mile “In the Pink” breast cancer awareness walk will begin at 12:30 p.m., and pre-registration is not necessary. Entertainment for the event will be provided by the SRU Dance Express, which will perform at 12:30 p.m., followed by Jamrock at 12:40 p.m.
“Being healthy is more than just the absence of illness,” said Greg Sferra, SRU’s director of campus recreation. “I, for one, don’t want to trap myself in a body that won’t allow me to live life to its fullest.”