Pairs of prominent people in the Pee Dee gathered at the McLeod Health & Fitness Center on Thursday afternoon to donate 15 minutes of their time on side-by-side treadmills as part of the Start! Sole to Sole event.
The treadmill event was sponsored by Nucor Steel, but employees from many local businesses took time to show as little as 15 minutes a day of walking can reduce such heart disease risk factors as stroke, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
And walking with a buddy can offer support and accountability to people looking to become healthier or who just want to lose a few pounds.
Brandie Hayes, senior director of corporate relations for the American Heart Association, said the event is a great way to kick off the new MyStart! Online Community, “an online destination for walking buddies, or ‘sole-mates,’ to connect virtually.”
Hayes said the treadmill event might be unusual, but it gets results.
“We’re doing these nationally,” she said. “The point is to let people know that walking is really beneficial to your body and that if you do it with a buddy and make it part of your daily routine, it gets easier.”
Connie Lee, a volunteer walker from ACS Technologies in Florence, said she walked in memory of her father and her grandfather, who both died from heart disease.
“I am very committed to helping out with the American Heart Association,” she said. “Hopefully, they will have enough tests to do early detection.”
Lee was joined on the treadmill by Jamie Grimsley, executive director of business development at ACS Technologies. He said they took the time to catch up on what the other person has been doing during the past few months.
“I’m actually part of the executive leadership team at the American Heart Association,” he said. “It’s just near and dear to my heart.”
Grimsley said he has been working hard to get healthy during the past year and that work has paid off.
“I’ve lost over 60 pounds,” he said. “It’s pretty important.”
Daphne Heffler, associate vice president with the Cardiac Division at McLeod Health, said part of her job is promoting healthy living in the Pee Dee.
“We want to help people to realize that there are opportunities to modify their risk factors,” she said. “One of the things that is important about exercise is having a partner. To have a partner helps people to stay on an exercise program.”
On the Web
The American Heart Association’s MyStart! Online Community:
www.heart.org/start
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