UnitedHealthcare teamed up with IRONKIDS for the
UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS® Chattanooga Fun Run to inspire and
motivate young people to lead active, positive and healthy lifestyles.
Young kids get a fast start out of the gate at the UnitedHealthcare Chattanooga Fun Run in their quest to be IRONKIDS. Source: Steven Llorca
The UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS Chattanooga Fun Run took place at Ross’s
Landing in downtown Chattanooga, with hundreds of young people and their
families participating.
UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr. Health E. Hound and IRONMAN athletes led
warm-up exercises with the kids, and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleishmann and
State Sen. Bo Watson were at the starting line to officially kick-off
the race. Families, community leaders, UnitedHealthcare employees,
IRONMAN athletes and supporters lined the course to cheer on the young
runners in their quest to be “IRONKIDS.” Runners received race bibs,
T-shirts and medals at the finish line. The age-appropriate (¼ mile, ½
mile and 1 mile) course for “triathletes to be” took place along
portions of the IRONMAN® course, which begins Sunday.
UnitedHealthcare and IRONKIDS provided 100 free registrations to the
Salvation Army of Chattanooga and donated $15 to the organization for
each registered runner, up to the first 200 participants. The $3,000
donation will support Salvation Army of Chattanooga after-school health
programs. UnitedHealthcare and IRONKIDS sponsored a health fair and
training event for children the day before the fun run, providing free
health screenings and conducting warm-up exercises and other activities
with IRONMAN athletes and Dr. Hound.
“It is a thrill to help kick-off this year’s IRONKIDS event and join
hundreds of kids and their families to promote healthy living and
exercise,” said Congressman Fleishmann. “I also appreciate that IRONKIDS
and UnitedHealthcare are working with organizations like the Salvation
Army here in Chattanooga to provide their youth members an opportunity
to participate, get free health screenings and support youth programs.”
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).
“The IRONKIDS Chattanooga Fun Run is a great way for area children and
families to enhance their health and well-being,” said Rita Johnson
Mills, president, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Tennessee. “We are
grateful for the opportunity to partner with the local Salvation Army
and inspire young people in our community to be active and stay healthy.”
The UnitedHealthcare 2014 IRONKIDS North America Running Series features
nine one-mile Fun Runs and a splash-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, chief sales officer 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 1.1 million Tennessee
residents and partners with nearly 18,000 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 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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