Fitness Opportunities Abound

From a local fitness standpoint, I would be remiss if I did not continue to plug the Quarryman Challenge race on May 12. I am one of the founding fathers and still an organizer of that race, and think that it is the best running event in the area (but I may be biased). There is still time to register; in fact you can register up until 30 minutes before the race starts at 7:30 am that Saturday. The hills will challenge you, but the post race fun and feeling of accomplishment will make it all worthwhile.

Send me an email if you want more information and can’t find it on the website.

Last Saturday, April 21, there was a quarry clean-up event associated with Earth Day. My youngest son and I headed down to the Lemont quarry area (you all know where that is, right?) and picked up garbage for a few hours. While this would not typically be construed as a fitness activity, we did end up walking several miles and my back still reminds me that I foolishly decided to pull a piece of carpeting out of the water and hauled it to the road to be picked up by the crew. There are more than five miles of crushed limestone trails around the quarries that are quite picturesque and make for wonderful hiking and biking opportunities.

In case you missed that event, there is another clean up event at the Lemont Open Space (off of 127th St behind the dog park) on Saturday, April 28. It starts at 9 a.m. If you have never been to the Open Space area, there are a couple miles of paved and wood chipped trails that wind through nature and offer another alternative for getting in some exercise.

I’ll close today with a brief mention of my favorite place in Lemont, the Park District's CORE facility. This facility is truly great, with fitness offerings that are never ending. I especially enjoy the spin (cycling) classes and all the respective instructors and the indoor pool.

I also participate in a Master’s Swim program run by Trismart Coaching, which has offerings in either the early morning or the evening during the week. If you can’t find something to do at the CORE to get you off the couch, then you may want to check how deep that butt imprint is on your couch cushion.

Happy Fitness!