Heart and Sole, you’ll fall in love with heart health.
Formerly known as the Race for Red, the Heart & Sole race is Utah Valley Hospital’s new venture to teach Utah Valley residents about heart health and provide a fun, family-friendly event.
Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United States every year, and being active and eating right are two of the most powerful things people can do to keep their hearts healthy. So Utah Valley Hospital is helping prevent the community from becoming a statistic by trading procedures for prevention and providing an entertaining way to learn about heart health.
While heart health is a serious issue, Utah Valley Hospital has found a fun way to get hearts and minds pumping for heart health, which includes exercise, eating and education. With heart specialists and BYU student-athletes there to guide the way, here are three healthy heart events happening at Heart & Sole on Saturday, May 12.
5K Heart & Sole run
If you’ve got soles, then you can participate in the Heart and Sole Run. Focused less of the race and more on participation, this is the application part of the healthy heart lesson. Run — or walk — the 5K.
The 5K race starts and finishes at North Park, the park located next to Intermountain Hospital in Provo, and primarily runs along the Provo River Trail.
Participation costs $20 for children ages 14 and under and $25 for individuals ages 15 and older. Each participant receives a high-quality wickaway athletic shirt. Plus, all registrants will be entered into a raffle to win great prizes including Stadium of Fire tickets, a bike, giveaways from BYU and more.
Lace up those running shoes — the race begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 12. Register for the Heart & Sole 5K here.
Obstacle course with BYU student-athletes
For children ages 3-12, BYU student-athletes are working with Utah Valley Hospital to host an obstacle course. With about 30 BYU athletes running the course, the obstacle course will have multiple stations based on different sports at BYU, such as baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, soccer, tennis, track and more. Children will complete tasks such as hitting a volleyball over the net and passing a baton — and BYU athletes will be there to demonstrate and assist in these tasks along the way.
“I think it’s just great to have our athletes involved in the community,” said Paul Tidwell, BYU student athlete welfare coordinator. “There are so many out there who support BYU athletics, so it’s good for us to give back to the community. Plus, it is great to serve.”
The obstacle course is free to all, even those who don’t participate in the 5K race. The obstacle course will begin at 9 a.m. with the 3-4 year old age group, followed by the 5-6 year olds, 7-8 year olds, 9-10 year olds and 11-12 year olds. Each group will get to spend time with the athletes while running the course.
Register for the obstacle course here.
Heart Fair
Blood pressure, sleeping tips and pig hearts — oh my!
Get familiar with your own heart at the Heart Fair. The Heart Fair will provide free blood pressure screenings, cholesterol screenings for the first 200 people, tips to improve your sleep, a climbing wall, cooking demonstration and more. Utah Valley Hospital’s new LiVe Well Center will talk about nutrition and physical activity, which are some of the programs that the center provides.
Learn about the anatomy of the heart with one of Utah Valley Hospital’s surgeons. The surgeon will dissect a pig heart.
While you explore the booths and pick up swag, there will be live music by Fire at Will, a classic rock band from Utah.
BYU student-athletes will also participate in the Health Fair. Attendees will get the chance to meet and get autographs from current and former BYU athletes like Chad Lewis, Fui Vakapuna and Wayne Latu. Plus, Utah Valley’s favorite cougar, Cosmo, will be around to take pictures with attendees.
“It’s great to volunteer and support something like this, especially for our athletes,” Tidwell said. “This is such a good fit to be healthy.”
The Health Fair is open from 7:30–10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 12. Learn more about Heart & Sole events at intermountainhealthcare.org.