EASTON (July 20) – The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor and St. Luke’s University Health Network will host a reception to celebrate the Get Your Tail on the Trailprogram’s “National Trails for Health Award” from American Trails at 11:00 am on Friday, July 24, 2015 at the National Canal Museum in Hugh Moore Park, Easton. There will be a free canal boat ride at noon for the first 80 people to attend the award celebration.
Get Your Tail on the Trail is a community-based initiative geared to promoting outdoor fitness activities in a family fun environment and was recently recognized by American Trails, the national nonprofit organization working on behalf of all trail interests.
At the 2015 International Trails Symposium held in May in Portland, OR, Get Your Tail on the Trail won American Trails’ “Trails for Health Award” for recognizing our community’s commitment to improving access to trails and promoting their use and importance for increasing physical activity.
The 165 miles of scenic D&L Trail that makes up the spine of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor seemed a natural location in which to base a family friendly fitness initiative. Get Your Tail on the Trail was a hit from the get-go. The initial 165-mile challenge was launched in May 2013 with the thinking that 250 participants would mark the program as a success. In the first six months of the program, 2,455 people signed up. They logged 255,392 miles. Further development of the program saw bike and hike outings, school field trips, canal boat rides, health fairs, history walks and more. Currently, Get Your Tail on the Trail has 5,250 participants who have logged over 1,124,295.62 miles.
The program was created in 2013 by Elissa Garofalo, Executive Director of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Dr. Bonnie Coyle, St. Luke’s Director of Community Health and Kenneth Szydlow, Vice President of Marketing for St. Luke’s University Network in an effort to get families off their couches and into an exercise routine.
The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that preserves historic pathways that carried coal and iron from Wilkes-Barre to Philadelphia. Today, the D&L Trail connects people to nature, culture, communities, recreation and our industrial heritage.
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Denise E. Rader
Director, Network Media Relations
St. Luke’s University Health Network
fax: 484-526-3068