KINGSTON, R.I. – March 14, 2018 – The University of Rhode Island’s Physical Therapy Program and undergraduate Pre-PT club will hold the Run Your Life 5K fun run and walk Sunday, April 15 at 9:30 a.m. on the Kingston Campus Quadrangle. The #ChooseYou Healthy Lifestyle Exposition will also be held that day from 9 a.m. to noon.
The goal of the event is to bring the community together to raise awareness of the devastating opioid crisis in Rhode Island and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle as an alternative to pain management. All funds from the event will benefit The Jim Gillen Anchor Youth Recovery Center, which is run by The Providence Center. Walkers, runners and children in strollers are welcome to participate. The #ChooseYou Healthy Lifestyle Exposition will feature student-run booths with information on healthy alternatives to opioid pain medications and easy ways to integrate healthier habits into everyday life.
According to race organizers, Americans are saving and sharing prescription opioids at an alarming rate – a rate almost as alarming as the rise in prescription opioid deaths, which have increased by nearly 50 percent in Rhode Island since 2011. In addition, prescription opioids greatly increase the risk of depression and drug abuse, with 75 percent of heroin users reporting that they abused prescription opioids first.
Race Coordinator Lynne Hibbard, an American Physical Therapy Association Core Ambassador and doctor of physical therapy student, said, “We chose the Jim Gillen Anchor Youth Recovery Center as our beneficiary because we believe that the best way to end the growth of the opioid epidemic is to stop it where it starts — among those in their early teens. As we educate doctor of physical therapy students who will soon work to benefit their communities, we want to make sure that they help children and teenagers have opportunities to live their lives to the absolute fullest and in the healthiest way,” said Hibbard.
The event will demonstrate how health care in Rhode Island is changing. “Interdisciplinary action and communication are keys to resolving the opioid crisis and other health issues, and this opportunity is going to allow us to encourage the community to work with us and teach people how to advocate for themselves in their own care,” said Hibbard.
The first 100 people to sign up receive a “swag bag” with a T-shirt inside and other goodies. Register in advance for $20 March 19 at the Memorial Union at 50 Lower College Road and Hope Commons at 19 Butterfield Road, and online. The fee is $25 the day of the race.
Participants can also sign up for the College of Health Sciences Blood Drive April 5 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., being held behind Independence Square at 25 W Independence Way.
Race Day Schedule – URI Quadrangle, Kingston Campus
8:45 a.m. — Check-in and Same Day Registration
9:30 a.m. — Race Begins
9:00 a.m. – noon — #ChooseYou Exposition
Alexa Stewart, intern in the Marketing and Communications Department at URI and Public Relations and Communication Studies Major, wrote this press release.