UnitedHealthcare is teaming up with IronKids for the UnitedHealthcare IronKids Syracuse Fun Run to inspire and motivate young people to lead active, positive and healthy lifestyles.
Taking place on 21 June, the UnitedHealthcare IronKids Syracuse Fun Run will begin at 09:30 local time at Jamesville Beach Park, 201 Hamilton Street in Jamesville. Participating children and their families are encouraged to arrive early. Onsite registration and pre-event activities begin at 07:30 and include healthy snacks, games, arts and crafts, educational materials and warm-up exercises.
UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr Health E Hound will lead warm-up exercises and join the kids at the starting line to officially kick-off the race. Families, community leaders, UnitedHealthcare employees and Ironman supporters will line the course to cheer the young runners on their quest to be ‘IronKids’. Runners will receive race bibs, t-shirts and medals at the finish line.
All Syracuse-area kids and families are invited to participate. The cost for registration is US$15 for kids ages 3 to 15. Registration details are available at IronKids.com.
This is the second year UnitedHealthcare is sponsoring the one-mile Fun Run in Syracuse. The age-appropriate (¼ mile, ½ mile and 1 mile) course for ‘triathletes to be’ will take place along portions of the Ironman 70.3 Syracuse course, which begins the next day – Sunday 22 June.
UnitedHealthcare and IronKids are providing 100 free registrations to Boys & Girls Club of Syracuse youth; and will donate US$15 to the Boys & Girls Club for each registered runner, up to the first 200 participants. The donation will support Boys & Girls Club of Syracuse’s after-school health programs.
“This IronKids Fun Run is a great way for children and families in New York to enhance their health and well-being,” said Pat Celli, President of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New York. “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Boys & Girls Club and inspire young people to be active and stay healthy.”
This is the third year UnitedHealthcare is supporting IronKids as part of the company’s commitment to help stem the rising tide of childhood obesity through a focus on healthy lifestyles. Obesity among children and adolescents has almost tripled since 1980, with nearly one in every three children being overweight or obese, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Children from low-income and low-education households are three-times more likely to suffer from obesity, which is a leading risk factor for diabetes, heart disease and many cancers, according to America’s Health Rankings, an annual comprehensive assessment of the US nation’s health on a state-by-state basis. New York ranks 15th in the country, with nearly 11% of youth estimated to be obese.
The UnitedHealthcare IronKids 2014 Running Series features nine one-mile Fun Runs and a dip-and-dash, as well as music and health expos, and the opportunity to watch Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events with hundreds of spectators.
“We are thrilled to have UnitedHealthcare team up with IronKids to sponsor these youth events across the country as part of our Ironman series,” said Carola Ross, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Ironman North America. “The opportunity Fun Runs give children in these communities is tremendous, as these races can be the catalyst for a lifetime of exercise and healthy living.”
UnitedHealthcare offers health benefits, including employer-sponsored, Medicare and Medicaid health plans, to more than 4 million New Yorkers and partners with more than 62,000 physicians across the state.
