In these trying times of social distancing and self-isolation, my wife and I are always trying to find fun things to do as a family with my son, to just get us out of the house and to get some exercise. Since nearly everything is closed, we mainly stick to walking through the park right down the block from us. Clove Lakes Park, here on Staten Island, New York, is comprised of a number of small lakes and ponds, and a few small waterfalls. We try to walk in there every night, and we’ve even come across a few cool and creepy things, like a great horned owl and a plastic lawn chair, far from the trails, just facing a tree. It’s a great way for us to get some fresh air and hit our 10,000 steps every night. But motivating my son to come with us, who’d rather be playing Fortnite, can be tricky. Luckily, my wife stumbled upon a great thing for us to do in the park: the Bigfoot Running Challenge.
Dubbed “Bigfoot…The Social Distancing Champion’s Running Challenge,” the name undoubtedly comes from the popular meme of Bigfoot that’s been going around since the coronavirus pandemic started. The run encourages participants to get outside (or on their treadmills) to run either 5k, 10k, a half marathon, or a full marathon, with the entry fees going to help support their US food bank sponsors. “You can select to donate a portion of your registration to Children’s Hunger Alliance, Mid-South Food Bank, Hunger Task Force, Whole Again, or you can split the donation evenly among all of the food banks.” Here are the details:
Participants will get a commemorative t-shirt, a finisher certificate, and online results, and a medal is available for an extra $9. All based on the honor system, of course, because we need to remain safe and socially distant. But to me, this seems like a fun way to help get your family outside to get some exercise, as well as a great way to help food banks provide meals to children and families in need during this time of crisis. And I mean, who doesn’t love Bigfoot?
