Large Turnout for Hump Day Run

For more information, contact our Media Relations Manager, Ted Griggs, 225-763-2862 or our Communications Director, Lisa Stansbury, at 225-763-2978. Our news email box is also available at news@pbrc.edu.

Released: Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Kinsey Dinnel led the crowd at the Pennington Center for the Club South Runner's "Hump Day 2-Miler and ½ Mile Youth Event" last week. The run, an ongoing effort of Pennington's Women's Nutrition Research Program (WNRP) and the YMCA to help promote the benefits of exercise, is the second of Club South's summer series. Dr. Catherine Champagne, head of the WNRP and a professor of nutrition and chronic diseases at Pennington, organized the event with the help of her staff.

The evening kicked off with a beginning exercise clinic sponsored by YMCA staff who emphasized the importance of exercise in contributing to overall health. Allan Wellington, Fitness Instructor at A.C. Lewis YMCA , Chris Goff, Wellness Director at Paula G. Manship YMCA and Donna Chustz, Fitness Director at A.C. Lewis YMCA, fielded questions on exercise as well as offering tips for maintaining a healthy regimen.

"Only 12 percent of people regularly exercise," Wellington said. The YMCA experts suggested that a three-day a week program was best to start off with. "You have to crawl before you walk," Wellington said. The ½ mile youth event began with children of all ages participating followed by a two-mile adult race around the Pennington Lake. Kinsey Dinnel was the overall male with a time of 10.18 while Lindsey Day was the overall female with a time of 12.22. Other top runners included Inder Sehgal, Lisa Evans, Randy Ellis, Janice Burnette and Jacob Joiner. Following the race, drinks, watermelon and Dr. Champagne's smoothie recipe were served. "I had a lot of fun making up gallons of banana blueberry smoothies to give to the participants of the event. I wanted something nutritious and easy," Champagne said. "There were only four ingredients: orange juice, low fat yogurt, bananas, and blueberries. Packed full of nutrients and phytochemicals, once those folks started tasting the smoothies, my hand never left the dispenser. What a hit!"

---

Banana-Blueberry Smoothies

8oz Container of low fat fruited yogurt
8oz orange juice
1 medium banana
1/3 cup blueberries

For best results, peel, slice, and freeze bananas (a great way to store bananas that are a little too ripe). Blueberries are best frozen as well. Blend all ingredients together and enjoy.

Hint: Peach Yogurt is best.

Servings per recipe: 2

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories: 230
Fat, g: 1.7
Saturated fat, g: 0.9
Cholesterol, mg: 5
Carbohydrate, g:50
Protein, g: 6.5
Sodium, mg: 70
Calcium, mg: 190

###

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes approximately 80 faculty and more than 25 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 44 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Pennington Biomedical's more than 500 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.