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Comments from a few HHS affiliates who participated in the 2011 Mini Marathon

I finished in 5503rd place, 1:54:14. Right calf started cramping at about the 10-mile mark and I had to walk it out a couple times. Didn't stay hydrated well enough, I guess. Alan Mehringer, IT Manager, Human Development and Family Studies, Consumer Sciences and Retailing

I ran the race. Time 2:16:31. TusaRebecca Schap, Nutrition Science

My husband, Joe, and I walked in the mini. We finished with Connie and Lloyd Weaver near the end of the pack. Barbara Mayfield, Continuing Lecturer, Nutrition Science

I walked in the mini…my goal was just to complete it…I finished in 3 hours 44 min. and 55 seconds. Preparing for the mini was part of my personal health plan to keep moving…I also completed 2 other 5Ks this spring and the spring fling fitness walk on campus. I have registered for another 5K and the Indianapolis Mini Marathon this fall in order to keep working on my health goals. Dee Love, Human Development Extension Specialist, Human Development and Family Studies

This was my first Mini and I walked it in 3:14:53. I am an HHS "adoptee" (I work in the Office of Investments). Greg Dargie

HHS Mini Marathon Initiative Featured on WLFI TV18.com

Next weekend nearly 100 runners and walkers from Purdue University will lace up their shoes for the annual OneAmerica Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis.

When Kristen Wilde started running just a year ago, she did so on her own. But this year she is working out along with nearly 100 other Purdue University students and staff as a part of a mini-marathon training program developed by Purdue professor Wayne Campbell.

"As soon as they got the website up and running I got on the message boards and a couple of us now run routinely after work," Wilde said.

Professor Campbell created the group that at first, included just a few people. READ MORE

Purdue Today covers HHS Mini Marathon Initiative

Sometimes a good idea, a healthy idea, steamrolls into something bigger. Such was the case when Wayne Campbell, professor of foods and nutrition, started asking colleagues and students within his department if they'd be interested in running or walking the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon the first Saturday in May.

A starting group of seven became 10, ballooned to 20, and doubled to some 40 people, all connected to the department. Now, the college-wide initiative has gathered nearly 100 people who will have opportunities to get body assessment tests, form training groups and download tips and training programs from a newly developed website. READ MORE

Alan Mehringer

Manager for CSR/CDFS Information Technology

"I first ran the Mini in 1979. Frank Shorter won the very first one in '77 and Bill Rodgers won the second one in '78. Those guys were my heroes. Shorter won the Olympic Marathon in Munich in 1972, and Rodgers won Boston and New York four times each. Rumor was they were both going to run Indy in '79 and I just wanted to be in that race. I'd never run farther than 10K before that. Turned out neither one was there, but I enjoyed the experience anyway. It was a very different race back then. Only 3 or 4000 runners, and it ended at the Speedway, whereas now that's about half-way."

"As an aside, both Shorter and Rodgers were there as guest speakers in 2006 for the 30th running. They both autographed my race number. That was very special. Frank Shorter is there every year – he provides commentary for the TV coverage on WISH. Last couple years he's been stationed at the yard of bricks, and he waves and shouts encouragement as people go by."

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If you are not already participating in regular exercise, getting approval from your doctor before beginning an exercise program is important, as not all exercise is appropriate for everyone.