Your outdoor news bulletin for May 6, the day Roger Bannister ran the first four-minute mile, finally giving middle distance running the sexy edge it deserves:
Two-Fly, All the Way to the Bank
We’ve covered Project Healing Waters in the pages of our magazine and online before, but this story is definitely worthy of more coverage. The annual Project Healing Waters Two-Fly Tournament is one of the biggest fund-raisers of the year and is held annually at Rose River Farm in Madison County, Va. Rose River Farm is owned by Douglas Dear, who is also the chairman of the PHW board. The big news is that this year’s tournament drew a large crowd – including Washington Redskins nickel package specialist, safety and all around run stuffer Reed Doughty – and raised over $220,000 for the program. That’s a lot of hooch!
Richmond Leaders Head West
The civic leaders of Richmond, Va. headed west to Denver last week, hoping to pick up some tips on making their city more active. Denver is the capital of one of the fittest states in the union (Colorado) and has one of the nation’s healthiest workforces and the Greater Richmond Chamber wanted a piece of the action. But it is not just for the benefit of the individual, although that is nice, it’s for the benefit of the whole area. Richmond wants to use the growth of active lifestyle infrastructure – like bike share programs and bike/walk friendly city planning – as a way to spark economic development. Richmond is banking on the notion that young, outdoorsy, active folks will want to move to the River City because of the healthy, outdoor lifestyle vibe; not to mention the lower cost of healthcare due to an active populace. Richmond will host the ICU Road World Championships in 2015, and are ramping up their efforts in preparation for the media attention. They could do worse than using Denver as a model.
DuPont Due For Improvements
DuPont State Recreation Forest got some press in this magazine last year, and is now so crowded it is getting some major upgrades to its infrastructure. Coincidence? I think not, although that movie the Hunger Games may have also played a roll in the visitor explosion the park has received over the past couple of years. In May and June, DuPont will get a new parking lot and pedestrian bridge at the Hooker Falls Access, trail upgrades, new trails, and a visitor center, in addition to a master plan to be unveiled by the end of the year. The 10,500-acre park saw a record 358,000 visitors in 2012, up from 250,000 in 2011 so the improvements are certainly warranted.
