Training Program Encourages Participants to “Get Off the Couch”

BLUE HILL — A year ago, Judy McGeorge, 53, was in good health, but she knew a steady exercise program would be beneficial, if she could just find the motivation.

Anne Piazza (second from left) leads trainees to the starting line of Saturday’s 5K Fun Run for a practice run last week. Piazza, a local cross-country coach, fitness enthusiast and physical therapist, leads the free training program that encourages participants to “get off the couch” and get healthy by emphasizing lifestyle changes and peer coaching. — JAMES STRAUB

Rhoda Clifford, 38, suffers from asthma and borderline diabetes. When a co-worker suggested she take up running this spring, she said, “No way.”

Both women, and dozens of other men and women, have discovered a road to better health through a training program started by Anne Piazza last year in conjunction with a Fun Run sponsored by Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and Healthy Peninsula.

The second annual Fun Run and Health Fair will be held Saturday, Aug. 1, in the parking lot at Blue Hill Memorial, featuring the 5K Fun Run, a one-mile walk/run, health screenings, food, massages and more. New this year is a children’s area, featuring activities for toddlers to 12-year-olds.

Registration for the Fun Run starts at 7 a.m. and the race starts at 9 a.m. The one-mile walk/run starts at 8:30. The training goes on indefinitely.

To sign up for the individually tailored training sessions led by Piazza, contact her at 266-4338 or [email protected]