St. Joseph’s Hospital is raising awareness about cardiovascular health and supporting future nurses through its second annual Healthy Hero Hustle 5K Run/Walk and Community Health Fair.
Representatives from the hospital attended a recent Rotary Club of Buckhannon-Upshur meeting to discuss the September 6 race and accept a donation from the club. Early bird registration for the 5K closes Friday, August 8, while regular registration is open through race day.
The 5K and health fair is a collaboration between St. Joseph’s Hospital and West Virginia Wesleyan College. Caprice Tenney, a physical therapist at the hospital, explained the event’s purpose and its connection to the hospital’s community health goals.
“St. Joseph’s Hospital identified priorities in the Community Health Needs Assessment in 2024 to help guide our hospital’s effort to improve the health of community members. This data and other information were used to develop St. Joseph’s Hospital Community Health Implementation Plan,” Tenney said. “As part of the plan, we chose to prioritize chronic disease prevention and management. We looked at activities that could be planned to help meet this need, which included a 5K and community health fair.”
St. Joseph’s Hospital partnered with the West Virginia Wesleyan College School of Nursing, with proceeds supporting the Student Nurses of Wesleyan organization.
“Last year, we started with a slogan, ‘Be a superhero for your health.’ We’ve continued with that slogan again this year, along with a superhero theme,” Tenney said. “We invite runners and watchers to dress up as their favorite superhero or wear a superhero shirt. We had a few dress up last year and hope to see more participate this year.”
Lindsey Zirkle, an occupational therapist and certified lymphedema therapist at St. Joseph’s Hospital, shared results from the inaugural event. The 2024 race drew about 118 runners — well above the initial goal of 50 — and the health fair hosted 17 vendors. They raised approximately $2,500 for the student nurses.
“As of today, we have 50 runners signed up for the 5K, and our goal this year is 100. We have 14 vendors signed up for the health fair,” Zirkle said. “If anybody would like to sign up for the health fair, or sign up to be a runner or walker — you don’t have to run — please come see us.”
The race is still seeking sponsors. Sponsors will be recognized on social media, at the event, and on the race website. They also have the opportunity to include branded items in swag bags for all participating runners.
“Our costs mainly consist of our medals and prizes for the placing runners. We give out first and second place for all age groups, and then we give out first, second and third place overall — male and female. We are awarding medals and plaques for the overall age group winners, and our overall winners will receive a custom-made mug with our logo,” Zirkle said. “They are being made by Mud Ceramics in Thomas, West Virginia. We wanted to keep it local.”
The medals are provided by Batman’s Trophies in Bridgeport. The Appalachian Timing Group will handle event timing.
“They set up a really nice start and finish line for us. They do announcements and provide bibs with scanning tags, so when people run across the finish line, it records their time automatically. We don’t have to use a stopwatch,” Zirkle said. “We do have to pay for their lodging and travel fees, but they are the most comprehensive and affordable group available to us.”
The race will be held on Saturday, September 6. Registration begins at 9 a.m. at the fountain circle on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College, with the race starting at 10 a.m. The health fair will be held at the same location from 9 a.m. to noon.
“Everyone who registers by Aug. 8 — which is this Friday at midnight — will receive a T-shirt and a swag bag; those will be guaranteed. If you register after Aug. 8, but before Sept. 5, you will not get the T-shirt, but you will be guaranteed a swag bag,” Tenney said. “If you sign up the day of the race, if we have enough swag bags, you’ll be given one, but there’s no guarantee. The price also increases after Friday: currently it’s $30; after Friday, it’ll be $35; and day of race is $40.”
Zuls will be for sale at the event, with proceeds benefiting the Student Nurses of Wesleyan.
After the race and health fair, there will be free face painting. Starting at noon, Soul Shine Yoga will lead a free community yoga event on the lawn in front of the chapel at Wesleyan College.
Event registration is available on the Healthy Hero Hustle 5K website. During the Rotary Club meeting, the club presented Zirkle and Tenney with a $750 check to help cover event costs.
