UnitedHealthcare is teaming up with IRONKIDS® for the
UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS Kansas Fun Run to inspire and motivate young
people to lead active, positive and healthy lifestyles.
The UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS Kansas Fun Run will begin at 10 a.m. at
Clinton State Park Campground #3. Participating children and their
families are encouraged to arrive early. Onsite registration and
pre-event activities begin at 7:45 a.m. and include healthy snacks,
games, arts and crafts, educational materials and warm-up exercises.
UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr. Health E. Hound will lead warm-up exercises
and join the kids at the starting line to officially kick-off the race.
Families, community leaders, UnitedHealthcare employees and IRONMAN
supporters will line the course to cheer the young runners on their
quest to be “IRONKIDS.” Runners will receive race bibs, T-shirts and
medals at the finish line.
Lawrence-area kids and families are invited to participate. The cost for
registration is $15 for kids ages 3 to 15. Registration details are
available at www.IRONKIDS.com.
This is the first year UnitedHealthcare is sponsoring the one-mile Fun
Run in Kansas. The age-appropriate (¼ mile, ½ mile and 1 mile) course
for “triathletes to be” will take place along portions of The Oread
IRONMAN 70.3 Kansas course, which begins the next day.
UnitedHealthcare and IRONKIDS are providing 100 free registrations to
Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence youth and will donate $15 to the Boys &
Girls Club for each registered runner, up to the first 200 participants.
The donation will support Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence’s after-school
health programs.
“This IRONKIDS Fun Run is a great way for children and families in
Kansas to enhance their health and well-being,” said Tim Spilker,
president, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas. “We are grateful
for the opportunity to partner with the Boys & Girls Club and inspire
young people to be active and stay healthy.”
This is the third year UnitedHealthcare is supporting IRONKIDS as part
of the company’s commitment to help stem the rising tide of childhood
obesity through healthy lifestyles. Obesity among children and
adolescents has almost tripled since 1980, with nearly one in every
three children being overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Children from low-income and low-education households are three-times
more likely to suffer from obesity, which is a leading risk factor for
diabetes, heart disease and many cancers, according to America’s Health
Rankings®, an annual comprehensive assessment of the nation’s health on
a state-by-state basis. Kansas ranks 27th in the country,
with nearly 30 percent of adults estimated to be obese.
The UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS 2014 Running Series features nine one-mile
Fun Runs and a dip-and-dash, as well as music and health expos, and the
opportunity to watch IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events with hundreds of
spectators.
“We are thrilled to have UnitedHealthcare team up with IRONKIDS to
sponsor these youth events across the country as part of our IRONMAN
series,” said Carola Ross, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing
for IRONMAN North America. “The opportunity these Fun Runs give children
in these communities is tremendous, as these races can be the catalyst
for a lifetime of exercise and healthy living.”
UnitedHealthcare offers health benefits, including employer-sponsored,
Medicare and Medicaid health plans, to more than 516,000 Kansans and
partners with nearly 7,300 physicians across the state. For more
information about UnitedHealthcare, visit www.uhc.com
or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
About IRONKIDS
After being
acquired from the Sara Lee Corporation, which owned the event series
since 1985, IRONKIDS® launched in 2009 with nine events in the
IRONKIDS® National Triathlon Series. Since the inaugural year,
IRONKIDS has seen more than 60,000 participants and has grown to over 40
events worldwide including races in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and
North America. The brand represents a multi-dimensional approach to
creating positive experiences for athletes, families and communities as,
as well as embodies achievement and determination while fostering
self-esteem. The IRONKIDS mission is to inspire and motivate through the
sport to live an active, positive and healthy lifestyle. For more
information visit www.ironkids.com.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare
is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 800,000 physicians
and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care
facilities nationwide. Globally, UnitedHealthcare serves more than 45 million
people in health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth
Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being
company.
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Copyright Business Wire 2014