by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Wellness and Fitness Center is holding a “Have a Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day event – and all three campuses will have the opportunity to participate.
“Have a Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day” will be Thursday, Feb. 14, at all three locations – the main campus at 7250 State Ave., the Dr. Thomas R. Burke Technical Education Center, 6565 State Ave., and the Pioneer Career Center in Leavenworth.
For the main campus, the event will be from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Wellness and Fitness Center. There will be two Technogym recumbent bicycles reserved for the event – one for employees and one for students and community members. Both bicycles will be open throughout the day for whoever wants to participate in the Heart Healthy Challenge.
People who would like to participate on Main Campus are asked to sign-up at the Wellness Center for a pre-determined, 30-minute time slot to ride that day. The goal is to complete 15 hours of cardiovascular exercise during the event as well as to encourage KCKCC employees, students and community members to team up in an attempt to ride the most miles and expend the most calories on Valentine’s Day.
Participants are asked to ride for their entire 30-minute time slot and cannot go over into a second 30-minute slot. If they complete the full 30 minutes, they are entered into a prize drawing. For more information or to register for the “Have a Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day” on Main Campus, call the Wellness and Fitness Center at 913- 288-7610.
At the Dr. Thomas R. Burke Technical Education Center and the Pioneer Career Center in Leavenworth, participants will be able to sign up to walk a mile as part of the event.
At KCKCC-TEC, participants will sign up for a 30-minute time slot between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. to walk one mile – six and a half times around the inside of the TEC. The goal is for participants to complete a combined 23 miles of cardiovascular exercise. To register, contact Kristen Povilonis at [email protected].
For those at the Pioneer Career Center in Leavenworth, participants will be asked to register for a 30-minute time slot between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. During this time, they must walk one mile, which is eight times around the inside of PCC. The goal is for participants to complete a combined 26 miles of cardiovascular exercise. Those who complete one mile at KCKCC-TEC or PCC will be entered into a prize drawing. To register, contact Shelly Thompson at 913-288-7750 or by email at [email protected].
Pam Hall, wellness specialist at the KCKCC Wellness and Fitness Center, said the purpose of “Have a Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day” is to encourage cardiovascular exercise as a way to promote a healthier way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. She said she would like to see every 30-minute time slot filled.
“I started the ‘Have a Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day’ event to encourage KCKCC employees to celebrate Valentine’s Day with heart healthy activities,” she said. “The event was a great success, and it evolved into what it is today with students, staff, faculty and the community participating in the ‘Have a Heart Healthy Valentine’s Day’ event.”