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Changing attitudes one step at a time: 5K run offers first-timers a chance to get into a healthier lifestyle

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Photo By Hilly SchifferJonathan Hines, an intern for The State Journal, stands among other participants at the starting line on Main Street.

In the race for better health, Kentucky normally ranks toward the back of the pack.
According to the 2007 report by Trust for America's Health, a non-profit organization, Kentucky has the seventh highest rate of adult obesity in the United States and third highest rate of overweight children.
But statistics are sometimes just reflections of attitudes. Attitudes can change.
The ProActive for Life 5K, which welcomed, encouraged and coaxed 124 first-time runners across the finish line, stands as evidence to that. The event, held June 13 as a benefit for the United Way, was specifically designed with runners and walkers with little to no experience in mind.
"We advertised it as "Not your everyday 5K'," race coordinator Debbie Brown said. "For people who didn't grow up with an active lifestyle, a 5K can be very intimidating."
A 5K is 3.1 miles.
Last September in the inaugural race, 187 participants completed the course. This year nearly twice that number went the distance. Racers could enter as individuals, form teams of five or compete as a representative of their school.
For first-time runners, however, the real challenge ended with the step after the starting buzzer. Here's a look at three rookie runners before and after their first 5,000 meters.
The team player
Julie King, a first grade teacher at Westridge Elementary School, couldn't keep a good thing to herself.
The day she found an e-mail about the ProActive for Life 5K in her inbox she began forwarding the message to her colleagues trying to organize a team to compete in the school competition. King, an avid cyclist, convinced eleven teachers and students to join her at the starting line.
"I am not much of a runner," King admitted before the race. "It's more of a team building thing. There's a bunch of teachers like me that have never done anything like this before."
King, who said she has lost around 90 pounds over the last eight years through exercise, saw the race as another reason to keep burning calories. She said she doesn't run much, but she participates in a spin class three times a week and does group fitness training at the YMCA. She recently bought a road bike which she said she rode for an hour and a half the day of the 5K.
"I am doing it for fun," King said before the race. "Maybe after this one it'll be inspiration to run the whole thing."
Wearing a pink athletic shirt and black shorts, King powered through the final 200 yards down Broadway. Standing near the finish line and cheering on the rest of her team, she said she ran about half the course and walked the rest.
"I wish I had trained more to run," she said. "I know I could have run the whole thing."
King was already thinking about the team she would assemble next year.
"I already have plans for next year," she said. "I would love to get more students involved."
The biggest loser
John Bayes knows all about losing.
As an employee at Farmers Bank, Mayes dropped 20 pounds in a "Biggest Loser" competition the bank staged earlier this year. Bayes won the competition and the title. To keep the pounds falling, Bayes decided to do the 5K, and after sprinting to the finish to complete the circuit, Bayes lost in a different sense.
Crossing the finish line, Bayes, red-faced and coughing with his hands resting on his head, found a spot near the sidewalk and promptly lost his lunch. Though not the way he planned on celebrating his aerobic accomplishment, the involuntary action was a testament to Bayes' effort in his first running event.
"I've been going to the Y a lot and running outside and doing some reading on beginner's running," Bayes said about his preparation before the race. "I got some general books that told you how to go from nothing to a real running program."
Bayes said staying motivated has been the key for him.
"My big motivation has been the weight loss," Bayes said. "Everyone in my family is big and they have health problems related to that."
He convinced his wife, Kim, to join him in the 5K. Unfortunately " or fortunately " she wasn't around during his moment of triumph.
"Interesting," Bayes said after the race. "I think I want to do another. I need to go back to training."
The overachiever
Beth Harper's goal entering her first 5K was to finish. She did that and more, timing in as the first rookie runner to cross the finish line in her age group.
"I ran everything but the inclines," Harper said. "The toughest part was the hill on Capital Avenue. I thought it was never going to end."
As part of her preparation, Harper attended several education sessions sponsored by ProActive where she learned about proper running form, stretching and nutrition. She also met with coordinator Debbie Brown and others on Saturday mornings to run the course.
Before the race she said she had been running "at least five times a week." She said she had lost 20 pounds during training.
Afterwards, she said she planned on entering other 5K events later in the year.
"I never thought about doing a 5K until I heard of this," Harper said. "The mentoring made it possible for me to do."
Upcoming races
For those interested in continuing their running in a race setting, here are two in Frankfort:
>The Buffalo Trace 5K steps off at 8 a.m. July 4. Sponsored by Buffalo Trace Distillery, the run begins at Riverview Park on Wilkinson Blvd. and ends on the distillery grounds after winding around lovely Lewis Ferry Road. Except for a little hill on Wilkinson, the course is about as level as you'll find in Frankfort.
>Then it's back to the same course ProActive runners enjoyed for the annual AFB Black Cat Chase beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24.