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Fit This hosts monthly walk

Event will be Aug. 5

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Amanda Bush, owner of Fit This, poses with a mile marker sign inside of her store. The store is holding a monthly run/walk on Aug. 5. Bush said the first run/walk was held on July 1.

A new Fort Dodge business is providing an opportunity for people to get fit with a monthly run/walk.

Fit This, which opened in April at 1208 First Ave. S., hosts the free run/walk on the first Saturday of the month.

The second walk will be held on Aug. 5.

Amanda Bush, owner of Fit This, got the idea to start the walk after participating in the Third Thursday Fit Night, which is another monthly walk sponsored by Brown’s Shoe Fit, 210 S. 25th St.

Fit This sells workout clothes and encourages people to stay active and healthy,

Bush said Craig Jarrard, owner of Brown’s Shoe Fit, had people coming up to him asking if he could hold the fit night more often.

“He’s had a lot of people asking if maybe they could do something on a Saturday morning,” Bush said. “He told me about the idea and said it would be great for my business since it’s hand in hand with what I’m doing.”

So on July 1, Bush held the very first run/walk at her store.

She said turnout went “surprisingly well.”

“I wasn’t sure, being the Fourth of July weekend,” she said. “But I was very, very happy with the turnout. There were 50 people there, plus all the kids.”

Bush said registration for the run/walk starts at 9:30 a.m. at her store.

“They just sign a waiver and the actual run/walk starts at 10,” she said. “We congregate in my parking lot and the walk is from one to three and a half miles.”

There are mile markers placed along the route so people know how far they’ve gone.

“We go down Central, down past the library, past Real Deals and then past that railroad track down the hill,” Bush said.

From there, the path continues on a trail that wraps around the former Sunkissed Meadows Golf Course, which is now a disc golf course. Bush said the path goes along the Des Moines River, then wraps back around in a large circle.

Participants then come back the same route they traveled down, ending up back at the store.

At the end of the run/walk there’s a drawing for items, including gift cards for Fit This and other small prizes.

Anyone is welcome to participate in the event. Bush said during the first event she counted 15 strollers and even a few dogs doing the walk.

She added that participants can run or walk as long or as little as they want, and nobody has to complete the entire route if they don’t want to.

There are also a number of community sponsors. Fareway provides bananas for every event and the Dariette provides ice cream. Other sponsors include Yoli and Club Fitness.

In addition to the one on Aug. 5, run/walks will be held on Sept. 2 and Oct. 7.

Bush said she plans on holding the run/walk next year, too, but she said she’ll start it in April instead of July.

More information on the run/walk can be found on the Fit This Facebook page. Bush said her email address is also on that page for anyone who has questions.

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