Kent4Health initiative logs miles to Beijing Olympics

Published 9:46 pm Thursday, July 10, 2008

It’s more than 17,000 miles from Kent to the center of the upcoming Olympic games in Beijing, China.

But a community health initiative is attempting to make that distance seem a lot shorter for locals here.

Between now and the games’ opening ceremony Aug. 8, organizers of the Kent4Health initiative are inviting walkers, cyclists and runners to log their miles on a Web site, to have Kent go the distance to the games.

The Web site is at www.kent4health.com.

As of Thursday, participants logged 933 miles to the Chinese capital – meaning they haven’t yet gotten out of the continental United States.

But there’s still a month yet to go for this event, titled “Walk, Run, Ride and Roll to the Olympics.”

Participants in the Web-based contest can log in every time they complete a workout, and can check their own progress online, as well as the overall Kent mileage.

Kent will conduct its own awards ceremony following the Aug. 8 deadline, honoring participants who have logged the most miles.

The Kent4Health initiative is spearheaded by Mayor Suzette Cooke, and operates through a growing number of community participants.

For more information about the mileage, or the initiative in general, go to www.kent4health.com, or call 253-856-4968.