Those looking for a way to spend time with Mom this Sunday may
want to avoid crowded restaurants and consider the outdoors.
The Third Annual Tuna Valley Trail Walk will take place from 2
to 4 p.m. on Mothers’ Day at the Richard E. McDowell Community
Trail near Campus Drive, located behind the University of
Pittsburgh at Bradford’s McDowell Sports & Fitness Center.
Participants will organize in the parking lot next to the
fitness center.
“We’ll have a big tent set up there, probably a couple,” said
Patricia Demjan, project director at the Center for Rural Health
Practice.
The event is sponsored by HealthWorks and the Tuna Valley Trail
Association.
According to Demjan, there will be representatives from the
HealthWorks association giving out free bottled water and healthy
snacks. The Trail Association will have members present to answer
questions people have about the trails or about becoming a member
of the association.
In addition, the Bradford Township Volunteer firefighters will
be on hand in case of an emergency. Organizers also hope to have a
registered nurse doing blood pressures, Demjan noted.
Furthermore, in honor of Mothers’ Day, there will giveaways such
as t-shirts, pedometers, information on sun safety and other free
children’s items for those in attendance. In addition to the
giveaways, mothers and their families will be treated to free
refreshments and prize drawings.
Demjan agreed with the notion that Mothers’ Day was a fitting
time to hold the walk.
“It’s a family-oriented holiday and we are trying to make change
come about … from parent to child,” she said. “Children learn
healthy or unhealthy behaviors from their parents.
“We’re trying to promote more physical activity. Rural people
tend to be less physically active than people in other areas of the
country.”
Demjan is hoping for Mother Nature to cooperate with this goal
better than last year.
“It was a very cold, dreary, rainy day,” Demjan said of the 2006
edition, adding that around 35 to 50 people showed up for it
despite the horrid weather.
“Being that the weather’s supposed to be fair and sunny (this
weekend), we’re hoping a big turnout this year.”
Interested individuals are invited to bring their whole family
and walk at their own pace. Demjan also pointed out that the
pathways are handicap-friendly.
“We’re hoping that people of all physical abilities come out,”
she said. “You can go as slow or fast as you want.”
For more information on the event, call the Center for Rural
Health Practice.
