On the heels of the success of a Fit & Fun Winter Challenge that wrapped up in March, The Aroostook Medical Center has launched a Fit & Fun Spring Challenge.

The challenge features 11 events in the community and runs through the middle of June.

The Spring Fit & Fun Challenge brings back some popular events from the winter series, including a $1 Sunday Swim at the University of Maine at Presque Isle this Sunday, April 15, and free bowling at Northern Lanes in Presque Isle on April 21.  The Challenge also offers a wide option of activities to get kids and adults outside to enjoy the spring weather.

As with the previous Challenge, some of the events being featured are being offered directly by TAMC at little or no cost to participants.  Other activities are being held already in the community and TAMC has joined forces with the respective organizations to help promote the healthy activity.  Such was the case this past weekend with the Spring Run Off 5K, an annual event held by the University of Maine at Presque Isle.  This marked the first of 11 activities as part of the Spring Challenge.

Some of these activities are open to the whole family, while others are geared for children.  Those who take part in three activities will earn a fold up flying disc; those completing five will receive a drawstring sports bag and those who complete at least seven will get a Fit & Fun t-shirt.

A couple of the May events offer particularly flexible fun for the whole family. On May 10, a “Run/Walk/Bike Through the System” kicks off at TAMC and participants can complete the first mile of the course together around the TAMC campus.  This event is intended to both promote physical activity while also helping both employees and community members become more familiar with each of the nine hospitals in the EMHS system.  The TAMC kick off takes place during National Hospital Week.  Participants will be given a map and log sheet to track their distance as they “travel” between each hospital, for a total of 510 miles from the northern-most hospital, TAMC, to each of the other hospitals, ending at the southern-most one, Mercy Hospital in Portland.  Participants can complete the course at their own pace. All who complete the 510-mile trek by the end of the year will earn a medal as well as be entered into a drawing for a grand prize.

The Aroostook River Fun Run takes place on Saturday, May 19.  This event, sponsored by the Presque Isle and Washburn Rotary Clubs as well as the Kiwanis Club of Presque Isle and TAMC, features three different fun options: paddling the river from Washburn to Presque Isle;  running/walking a 5K beginning at the PI Community Center; or riding your bike from Presque Isle to Washburn and back.  All three activities end at the Presque Isle Fish & Game Club with a free barbecue lunch, awards and door prizes.

Other events in the Challenge include a drop in day with the Star City Splash & Dash Club as well as the Splash & Dash event itself, the Peanut Carnival at the Community Center, the Kids’ Corner activities during a Rockin’ on Riverside evening, the Spring Fling at the Presque Isle Housing Authority, and the Girls on the Run 5K.

More details on each of the Fit & Fun Spring Challenge activities can be found by going to www.tamc.org. Flyers detailing the activities and passport punch cards will also be available at each event in the Challenge.  Questions can be directed to Jamie Guerrette at 768-4008 or jguerrette@emhs.org.

This information was submitted to us as part of a press release. If you would like to share your community news or event with our audience, please email newspi@townsquaremedia.com.

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