Coffee County Run Club Students Tour State Capitol

Trip is Reward for Devotion to Physical Fitness

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Health today hosted a field trip to the Tennessee State Capitol and Bicentennial Mall State Park for Coffee County students who have participated in Run Club activities at their schools. Boys and girls from Coffee County Raider Academy, Coffee County Middle School and Manchester Westwood Middle School meet multiple times each week with their club for non-competitive physical activity that allows them to increase physical fitness over time. 

“Physical activity is one of the most important gifts we can provide to children in our state, helping them see they can be successful,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “Run clubs create an opportunity for kids to enter physical activities at any level – run or walk – and they can measure their progress and be with others who will coach and mentor them. It’s not just about physical activity improving their physical health; it’s about activities that can improve their whole lives, helping them to be more confident and more successful. We hope these students from Coffee County will inspire others from across Tennessee to be involved with run clubs.”

Run clubs are funded through the Tennessee Department of Health Project Diabetes initiative, a statewide effort to reduce the incidence rate of diabetes. For the Coffee County project, funding was used for a youth fitness room in the Manchester Recreation Complex, youth fitness equipment, a community garden and stationary exercise equipment along the Duck River Greenway. The greenway was funded by multiple grants from the Tennessee Departments of Health, Transportation and Environment and Conservation.

TDH is finalizing a series of ‘how-to’ videos that will benefit communities around the state looking to plan and build greenways, and has worked in cooperation with the Manchester Department of Parks and Recreation to create a video for schools and communities interested in developing a run club. Learn more about run clubs and view the Manchester video online at http://tn.gov/health/topic/run-clubs.

The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. TDH has facilities in all 95 counties and provides direct services for more than one in five Tennesseans annually as well as indirect services for everyone in the state, including emergency response to health threats, licensure of health professionals, regulation of health care facilities and inspection of food service establishments. Learn more about TDH services and programs at www.tn.gov/health.