Folks on the Oso Bay Preserve Nature Walk took a “healthy selfie” on the trail as part of the It’s Time Texas Community Challenge. Courtesy photo
The Texas city with the most fitness points at the end of March will win the H-E-B It’s Time Texas Community Challenge. Currently, Corpus Christi is ranked third in Metro category for cities with 300,000 plus population. Austin is ranked first, with San Antonio second.
The Mayor’s Fitness Council is promoting the state-wide fitness contest, encouraging city residents to upload gym selfies and pictures of healthy food choices and healthy activities to ItsTimeTexas.org/communitychallenge to earn points.
"We were rated low in our health of the community,” Martinez said when asked about the push to participate in the contest. “We’re trying to address that by adding more options to becoming a healthier community.”
Some of those options include regular community-wide events such as the Harbor BridgeWalk on every first Sunday of the month after the first Friday ArtWalk. Visitors to corpusroadrunners.com will find an impressive list of runs and walks of all lengths happening almost every weekend. From Street 2 Feet to the Girl Scout Thin Mint Sprint to the Shamrock Shuffle, there’s a run for everyone interested in walking or jogging to a healthier lifestyle. Not to mention the miles of hike and bike paths and beaches available to everyone free of charge.
Individuals can participate in the fitness challenge by first downloading the Map My Fitness App and adding healthy activities to their day-to-day life. Each time an individual logs on and connects to his or her profile, they will earn 10 points for their community. Communities reaching their goals will be officially recognized as part of the Challenge awards ceremony.
The minimum goal for cities the size of Corpus Christi and larger is 150,000 points. As of the last week in February, the city had 102,470.
