Laughlin completes the Amazing Wellness Race

Published May 8, 2015
By By Airman 1st Class Ariel D. Partlow
47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Twenty teams of Laughlin members completed the six-week Amazing Wellness Race on May 1.

The race was put together by the Health Promotion center, formerly known as the Health and Wellness Center, in support of two observances: National Nutrition Month in March and Air Force Fitness Month in May.

The six-week program began March 23 and ended May 1.

The Amazing Wellness Race is an event involving a four-person team competing to "travel around the world." Points were added for various nutritional meals or exercises, and each healthy action transfered to "miles" used to calculate how far a team traveled. Participants also gained miles by attending classes or assessments conducted at Health Promotion Center.

This year, one team won both competitive categories of the program: the team with the most miles logged, and the team with the highest reduced body fat percentage.

The team that logged the most miles and reduced the most body fat percentage was team H2CR, logging a total of 31, 805 miles, landing them in Belize, Central America, and reducing 3.22 percent of their body fat.

"I loved being part of a team and having other people make the journey of getting into a healthy routine with me more enjoyable," said Linda Herzog, 47th Flying Training Wing Information Assurance manager and team member of H2CR. "This was just the start of a journey that we plan to continue. The race just helped us get on track and gave us the opportunity to redevelop those healthy habits and kick some of our bad habits."

Additional team H2CR members included Doug Herzog, Stephanie Carter and Carly Reimer.

Reynaldo Torres, Laughlin Health Promotion exercise physiologist, says the overall goal of both categories is to promote a healthier Laughlin by increasing physical activity and developing healthy eating habits.

"I am hoping to see more participation next year. The most teams we've ever had sign up is 22," said Torres. "This year we had 20, the second most in the 6 years since we started the program."

Torres explained that there is a lot more to it than just participating; it's a challenge to complete the program, it's an even greater challenge to continue the lifestyle change.