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Health & Fitness

Fitness Fundraising Frenzy

Fundraising can be fun combined with fitness! Zumba to end breast cancer and a JDRF walk to cure diabetes in one weekend was a win win situation!

   What a wild weekend I had! Two fundraising fitness events, a day apart. Friday night, Avon Walk for Breast Cancer sponsored an hour and a half Zumbathon at World Gym in Coram and on Sunday, the JDRF held their Walk to Find the Cure for Diabetes at Heckscher State Park in E. Islip.  

   The Zumbathon proved to be exhilarating and exhausting, but so much fun.  The best part about dancing for exercise is that you're having such a good time that you don't even realize how much you're exerting yourself.  And you get to wear funky zumba clothes and imagine yourself dancing at a party and not having to worry about being judged on your dancing skills. The take away - calories burned and fund raising for a good cause.

   I ran the JDRF's 5K walk as I've previously done and the gusty winds were reminiscent of last year's run. I gamely navigated the headwinds and the assortment of walkers comprised of schools teams, families and their dogs, all walking in support of finding the cure for type 1 diabetes.  The same sign I saw last year along the route made me emotional, and I picked up my pace. Asked by a 5 years old type 1 diabetic, "Mom, am I going to have diabetes the rest of my life?"  This is something I thought about when my daughter was diagnosed at age 14. For me, this race is very personal. My rewards at the finish line: sugar-free rice pudding and lemonade! 

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   I was a little sore by the end of Sunday, but I really felt good having participated. It also gave me an excuse to veg the rest of the day and put my feet up. The benefits in participating in these type of events are two-fold. The combination of fund raising to help the cause and exercising to improve your health makes it twice as worthy. 

   For more information on these organizations and the events they hold:

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