Loud music, Zumba dancers, spin cycles and kids playing tug-of-war were only a part of the activities that greeted Solano County residents on Saturday morning at the Team Suisun SoFit Rally located just outside of the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Suisun City.
The three hour event was the precursor to the SolanoFit City to City Challenge set for September 29, at Solano Mall.
“It pits cities in Solano County against each other for a 5K competition, a 10k race and a mile walk with the family,” said Chris Audette, membership and marketing coordinator for the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Suisun City. “The idea is that we have the most participants from each city to complete the race. That's Benecia, Fairfield, Vacaville, Vallejo, Dixon and Rio Vista. Our event today is a rallying point for Team Suisun.”
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Those who attended the rally stayed busy as there was something to do for just about every age group. For the adults there was spin cycling, Zumba dancing, and other exercises.
For kids, the fun seemed to never end as fitness-themed jump houses featuring obstacle courses and slides captivated their attention. There was also a coloring table and in addition, a tug-of-war as part of the Kids Fit portion of the rally.
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“We're members of the KROC Center and we are a family that believes in health and exercise and eating right and we wanted to take advantage of what the day offered,” said Tonya Patton of Suisun. “I think that the message is getting out there about what the KROC has to offer and certain vendors are here advertising and they are doing a good job. We have a lot of support out here.”
Patton added she will be involved with the walk on September 29, and intends to walk as far as she can.
For those attendees not participating in the exercises, the vendor booths featured fitness-themed items as well. There was Jelly Belly, where event goers could pick up free packets of energy Jelly Beans, US Army, Sports Authority, Balanced Body Chiropractic, Vitamin World, the Salvation Army, which offered free fruit and water, and a Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center booth as well.
Jessica Adele of Solano Fit Magazine spent her morning manning one of the several vendor booths.
“Solano has one of the highest rates of diabetes and obesity and we're just trying to get people moving,” she said as event attendees signed up for the upcoming race. “Proceeds from the race go to the Solano Library Foundation. We are out here to celebrate fitness.”
She added so far, more than 500 people have signed up for the race and that number is pretty phenomenal for a first-time.
Katrina Weller, 32, of Suisun, was one of the people to sign up for the race.
“This is something that we can do as a family,” she said. “We're going to do the 5K. The little ones will be in strollers and will walk some of it. It's something that we an do together to keep us active and fit and we also belong to the KROC Center so it's something that they're promoting.”
As the morning events continued, the music pounded and Zumba dancers worked out. Salvation Army Captain Jonathan Harvey got the chance to get a birds-eye view of the action from a lift truck. After coming back to Earth, he was kept busy talking to event attendees.
“From my perspective, it's just exciting to be a part of doing something like this,” he said. “We're supporting SoFitCity as they endeavor to build healthy communities and we're trying to rally Suisun City to be a part of this and to come out for the 5k, 10k, run walk on September 29. We want to promote a healthy lifestyle for people.”
He added it has taken about six weeks for a team of volunteers to get the vendors and components put together for the rally and was pleased with the results.
“The KROC Center is about promoting a healthy and transformed life.” he said.
For more information on the run, visit http://sofitcitychallenge.com/.
