Arizona Bilingual News

The Best Of Two Worlds

From the Tucson Mayor Desk By: Mayor Jonathan Rothschild

1- photo Mayor'sLast month, I had the opportunity to be a “tourist” in my own town, leading a walking tour along the Turquoise Trail—a 2.5-mile loop through downtown that connects a number of historic landmarks. It was fun to take in some of the iconic reminders of Tucson’s past, such as the Gazebo in Plaza de Mesilla and the Soldado de Cuera sculpture in El Presidio Park.

The walk was part of my Tucson Moves a Million Miles initiative, created after my first challenge, Walk 100 Miles with the Mayor, ended on June 1, 2013. We started an even bigger challenge—to move one million miles as a community—on January 11, 2014. To date, Tucsonans have walked, run, biked, swam or moved more than 184,000 miles!

Through Tucson Moves a Million Miles, I’ve challenged Tucsonans of all ages to increase their physical activity. This is a TEAM initiative, so Together we are striving to Eat well, Achieve and Move. On our Facebook page, Tucson Moves, we’re asking folks to send in photos that answer the question: What makes you move? (#makesmemove)

Whatever the exercise—from aquatics to Zumba—I invite you to join Tucson Moves a Million Miles and track your progress toward your own fitness goals. Together, we will move our city to greater health and wellness.

To participate, create an account through my website, www.mayorrothschild.com/move. Then, record minutes or miles of physical activity each day. This can even include walking your dog – you know your dog wants to help if it means going for a walk. If you’re being active, mark it down.

One of the great things about Tucson is our mild winter climate, which offers us the opportunity to exercise outdoors year round. A lot of organizations take advantage of our fine weather and organize walks as fundraising activities. Last month, walks included opportunities to support research on prostate cancer, Huntington’s disease and diabetes. To see a schedule of upcoming walks, visit www.mayorrothschild.com/events.

For those looking for more of a weekly gathering and a chance to socialize, Meet Me at Maynards is a great way to walk and experience downtown. This free Monday-night event has been taking place since April 2009.

I’d love to see more of these types of groups form in all corners of the city. If you have a desire to start a walking group in your neighborhood and want some ideas on how to get it off the ground, let me know. I can be reached at mayor1@tucsonaz.gov.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that walking, biking and other exercise can be done individually at your own pace. If you want to experience the great outdoors away from your backyard, check out the many local parks in Tucson. The City of Tucson website has a great park locator map to show you what’s available.

With obesity-related illness a growing problemnationally—and internationally—it’s important for all of us to take an interest in our eating and exercising habits. Tucson Moves a Million Miles is a way to start a daily regimen of being active. Whether it’s taking a slow walk around the block or running a marathon, it all starts with a single step. From there, we can make moving a million miles an achievable goal.

By: Mayor Jonathan Rothschild

Share this: