Jackson Free Press

"Why have a fun fitness day when you can have a fun fitness week?" asked Rachel Cowan, director of the Walter Payton Recreation and Wellness Center at Jackson State University.

JSU's 7th annual Fit Fest Week starts Monday, March 25, and runs through Saturday, March 30. All week, this active festival will keep you sprinting through events for your health and wellness.

"This event is a great resource for the students, faculty, family and the community," Cowan said.

The Wellness Health Fair Wednesday, March 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. features various health testing--including for HIV, cholesterol, peripheral artery disease, blood pressure and blood sugar--among other activities. The event is free and open to the public.

Cowen, 43 and a mother of five, is a native of Trinidad. She won a track scholarship to Jackson State University in 1989 and made Jackson her home. She is driven to share this festival with the public.

Fit Fest Week culminates with the 7th Annual "Sweetness" Fight Against Obesity 5K Run/Walk and One Mile Fun Run at 8 a.m Saturday, March 30. Runners and walkers of all fitness levels are welcome.

"(The Sweetness Run) started in 2006. We had 27 people registered, and five were my kids," Cowen said. "We had 687 participants last year."

Proceeds from the "Sweetness" Run will go toward the Live Well Membership Fund. The fund awards annual scholarships to children for JSU's Camp Tiger Tails summer camp. The fund also provides access to preventative health care and personal health management through fitness, education and weight-management programs at the Walter Payton center.

Participants may register on line at active.com, keyword "Sweetness," or in person at the Walter Payton Center at JSU. The pre-registration deadline is March 22.

For more information about JSU's Fit Fest Week, call the Walter Payton Center at 601-979-1368, visit www.jsums.edu or email Cowen at [email protected].