Take a walk on the fit side

A walk across UC's East and West campuses always burns calories, even at a leisurely pace. That stroll will also offer the chance to do some bench curls, chin ups, hamstring stretches and other exercises by the time fall classes begin in September.

A 10-station fitness and walking trail is being installed on campus and is expected to be ready by Sept. 25, according to Diane Lewis, director of business operations in Administrative Services and chair of the Quality Service Initiative Advisory Council. The nearly one-and-a-half mile trail cuts through campus from the front of Blegen, past McMicken, Old Chem, Brodie Plaza, Campus Green and across Martin Luther King to Procter, Vontz and Wherry.

Tom Sturwold, Dustin Ware, Pete Ohmer and Mark Dupps of Facilities Management began construction on the first station Aug. 21.

"It is designed to provide a sense of physical engagement. It's not a spectator's sport," says Len Thomas, a project manager in landscaping design and construction. "We're putting in a trail that would provide a good workout just walking along."

To put your muscles to an even more strenuous test, you'll be able to use the trail's 15 pieces of apparatus to do knee lifts, body curls, hops, push ups and other calisthenics.

According to Lewis, QSI and Human Resources have provided funding for the apparatus. Lewis said that part of the QSI mission is to enhance campus life, and the fitness trail is an effort to provide an additional avenue for the health and wellness of the UC community.

"We have a beautiful campus. This fitness trail will be a benefit to the UC community, and we want to encourage a strong body and a healthy mind through physical fitness. We hope that people will enjoy using it in between classes, on their lunch time or on breaks."

"It's another way to bridge the East and West campuses," Lewis continued. She notes that at UC, there are some individuals who rarely go from one campus to the other. Perhaps the trail will encourage members of the campus community to enjoy the aesthetics on both campuses, she says.

To offer incentives to use the apparatus, interactive card readers will also be installed to track individual use and generate names for prize drawings. Some of the awards will be provided by the Marriott Kingsgate Conference Hotel.

The trail is expected to be dedicated during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Health and Wellness Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 2, according to Lewis. President Joseph A. Steger and a representative of East Campus are scheduled to walk the trail, starting at opposite ends and meeting for a dedication at noon at the amphitheater near the Ronald F. Walker Light Tower on Campus Green.