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Walk and Roll begins Thursday

By Becky Barclay
Published in News on April 29, 2015 1:46 PM

GoWayneGo participants will be out and about walking all over Wayne County this summer.

The Walk and Roll Summer Walks 2015 program will begin Thursday and go through Sept. 24.

The one-hour walks will start at 6 p.m.

GoWayneGo is an initiative from the Healthy Wayne Task Force, a group of individuals representing WATCH, Wayne Memorial Hospital, the city, Wayne County Public Schools, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, Goshen Medical Center, United Way, the Family Y and Goldsboro Pediatrics.

"It's about how do we get people up and moving," said Becky Craig, chief financial officer at Wayne Memorial.

"The hospital has taken more of a leadership role in the health of the community. We're especially interested in the sedentary lifestyle that has come across the United States. We're all sitting so much of the day that our health has declined from not being as active as we used to be. A healthier lifestyle is what GoWayneGo is all about."

Throughout the year, local people who have taken the GoWayneGo pledge get out and have group walks.

"We tie in with the city on the Center Street Jam, and we walk from 6 to 7 that night and encourage people to go dance from 7 to 9 p.m.," Ms. Craig said.

"We try to be at any major event, like the Pickle Festival, Beak Week, Old Timey Days at Seven Springs, Healthy Kids Day at the Y, Pig in the Park and others."

GoWayneGo participants are required to learn a pledge, then they receive a T-shirt. The daily goals of GoWayneGo are five fruits and vegetables, three balanced meals, two hours maximum of screen time, an hour of physical activity and no sugary drinks except on occasion.

As part of the GoWayneGo initiative, several greenways have been constructed.

"Predating the Healthy Wayne Task Force was the WATCH Healthy Behaviors Task Force," said member Scott Barnard with Goldsboro Parks and Recreation. "It was a group of folks from different walks of life who got together because they recognized we were a sedentary community. One of the barriers was that there was not a place to walk."

The city received a greenways grant and that started the greenways in Wayne County.

"You can get trails in the ground for a very low cost," Ms. Craig said. "We need to encourage people to get out on these trails in groups with their pets. We need to get our kids out, too."

GoWayneGo is not just for adults because children are having obesity problems as well.

"Obesity and nutrition are a big emphasis of the American Academy of Pediatrics," said Dr. Dave Tayloe, Healthy Wayne Task Force member.

"Obesity, preventing type II diabetes and fitness are real big issues. But you're not going to go anywhere without a community wide approach and that's what GoWayneGo is."

Last year, the Healthy Wayne Task Force, as part of the GoWayneGo initiative, started the Walk and Roll Summer Walk program, which continues this year.

This year's Walk and Roll Summer Walk schedule follows:

* April 30, courthouse steps in conjunction with Center Street Jam featuring Spare Change

* May 7, Old Waynesborough Park, part of the North Carolina Mountains to the Sea Trail.

* May 14, courthouse step, Center Street Jam with The Embers

* May 21, Battle of Goldsborough Bridge

* May 38, courthouse steps, Center Street Jam with Jim Quick and Coastline Band

* June 4, new trail behind Wayne Memorial Hospital

* June 11, courthouse steps, Center Street Jam with Soul Central

* June 18, Seven Springs History Tour, meet at the Neuse River Boat Ramp

* June 25, courthouse steps, Center Street Jam with Carolina Treat Band

* July 2, Stoney Creek Greenway

* July 9, courthouse steps, Center Street Jam with Blake Kearney