Walk Across Wilson kicks off

Mar. 27—There is never a better time to start thinking about your health than springtime, when the days get longer and the flowers start blooming.

To ramp things up into high gear, the Wilson County Health Council's Walk Across Wilson campaign begins Sunday, but due to lingering COVID concerns, won't be like previous versions.

"Things are going to look a lot different this year," said Ray Render, the walk's organizer and a member of the council.

In previous incarnations of this event, two groups of Wilson County residents would physically walk from the west and southeast borders of the county and meet in Lebanon at the courthouse.

"Obviously, with COVID, we've had to scale this thing back," Render said. "Really it just forced us to re-imagine it."

Since the county is about 35 miles across, the health council decided to retain that distance, just without having to get several people together in the same place at the same time.

The program is spread out across four weeks. If each participant walks 30 minutes per day, six days per week, then the total mileage would roughly equate to the trans-Wilson axis.

Render said they made it six days instead of seven because, "everyone deserves a break now and then."

Last year, local officials, including Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto, joined in with the crowds on the walk. Hutto said he was "thankful to the people who take the time to organize this year's event. I know it provides many benefits that are unseen.

"After the time we've been through lately, it is probably more important than ever," he said. "We live in a great county with great people."

As part of the program, the council will collaborate with schools to increase participation. Render said the council hoped to see community- and school-based teams. "We don't want anybody doing this alone just because we can't all be together."

As Render sees it, camaraderie and competition can be great incentives. As such, the council will be rewarding participants who track their activity. Child participants are encouraged to sign up through their schools. For each of these participants that complete their objective, Walk Across Wilson will donate $5 to their school.

According to Render, the fundraising component of the Walk Across Wilson campaign has been a "boom" to some local schools in recent years. With this money, schools can further their health objectives by putting it towards things like playground equipment or field maintenance.

Hardly limited to youth, adults are equally encouraged to participate. By signing up co-workers, the office can become a team. For each adult participant, the Health Council will donate $5 to the charity of the office's choice.

While Walk Across Wilson had been donating to schools during previous years, this new charity donation from offices is a first. "Why just let the kids have all the fun," Render said.

The event is sponsored by Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital. Director of Community Relations Traci Pope said in an email, "As a member of the Wilson County Health Council, our vision and mission is to promote health and wellness through educational and preventative outreach unique to our communities.

"We strive to address the physical, mental, nutritional, and community concerns that are essential to a person's quality of life. Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital is honored to partner with the Health Council, our City and County Schools as well as the community to see this vision come to life."

For the link to sign up and log your miles, visit https://www.facebook.com/walkacrosswilson.