It”s time for Lowndes County to get back to the track.
The Lowndes County Y and The Commercial Dispatch are hosting the second annual Possum Town Mile-A-Day Marathon all May long.
There are no prizes for the most avid walker or whoever sheds the most pounds. The purpose, according to Y Community Relations Director Barbara Bigelow, is “to get people out to become more active and at the same time see some of the nice facilities we have in our community.”
The first track the county will show off is the Riverwalk. Registration begins at 1:45 p.m. May 1 at the Riverwalk, followed by the first mile at 2 p.m.
Registrants can pay $10 for a T-shirt if they like, but the impetus is on them from that point on.
“You do it on your own time and at the end of the month you come to the Y and turn in your sheet,” said Bigelow.
The lack of prizes isn”t due to a lack of funds. The point is to appeal to those citizens who want to be more active, but need a little push to get them moving, such as being involved in a countywide effort.
Last year 65 people signed up for the walking tour. Some turned in sheets with 100 miles on them. Others turned in sheets with fewer than 30 miles. About one-third of registrants didn”t turn in a sheet at all. And that”s OK.
“For the first year, it was good. The mayor (Robert Smith) came out and walked. He”s a big walker anyway,” said Bigelow. “It was (Dispatch publisher) Birney Imes” idea. He came to me and said ”You know, we need to get people out walking. There are so many nice things to see in Lowndes County.””
If there”s a prize in all of this, it”s getting to know the county. Registrants will receive a list of walking tracks located all over Lowndes in the interest of getting citizens to travel beyond their own communities and get familiar with their county.
The listed tracks include:
- Anderson Grove Park
- Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle
- Columbus Riverwalk
- Crawford Center
- East Columbus Center
- Lake Lowndes Park
- Ola J. Pickett Park
- Plum Grove Park
- Plymouth Bluff Center
- Sandfield Community Center
- Sim Scott Park
- Steens Mini-Park
- Townsend Park
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.