Hundreds run to promote healthy eating
Over 500 people ran in Calexico’s first MyPlate 5K Run on Saturday morning at Crummet Park. Organizer Clarissa Pacheco said the event was to raise awareness about a growing epidemic in the nation.
“We have a very high rate of Type-2 diabetes. We have a high rate of hyper-tension, high blood pressure, childhood obesity. It is an issue here as well,” Pacheco said.
She said that includes heart disease. She called it a first-world problem.
“I feel we just have fast food restaurants almost at every corner. It’s very easy. We’re very fast-paced type of lifestyle. Everyone has a fast-paced lifestyle,” Pacheco said.
She said each meal should have grains, fruits, vegetables and proteins.
“Each of the colors that are going to be thrown at all the participants represents the five different my-plate food group colors,” Pacheco said.
A local law enforcement motorcycle club helped with traffic control.
“The course is marked off with arrows and we also have the blue knights acting as traffic controllers as well as the city’s public works who graciously marked off the road for everybody,” Pacheco said.
Blue Knights California Chapter Ten President R.C. Zendejas said, “We also assisted by having one of our members at each intersection, at each turn to direct some of the runners. We were there to assist with traffic control and basically a safety observer and making sure nobody got injured or hurt today.”
Javier Pacheco, Blue Knights member, said healthy eating is important for everyone, especially for people in law enforcement who need to be physically alert and fit to do their job.
