Fun and Fit

We all need exercise for good health, and most of us don't get enough. But if good health isn't motivation enough, here's a little more incentive: From now until Labor Day and beyond, dozens of charity events will let you have fun, get some exercise outdoors and do some good for others.

Some of these events are for the super-fit few. An example of this is the Tuckerman Inferno, an amazing team or individual endurance event held every spring to benefit the Friends of Tuckerman Ravine. This extreme pentathlon has contestants running, paddling a whitewater kayak, biking, hiking and skiing a GS course in Tuckerman Ravine. Not for the faint of heart.

Others events are as simple as a 5K walk. Most of these events offer a range of challenges, so you can participate whatever your fitness level. Most have a charity component.

The Boston Marathon, for example,  held every year on Patriot's Day, opens slots for runners supporting 21 different charities. And probably many other runners are quietly getting pledges for their efforts to support their own favorite charities. It's great motivation to take the first steps toward running 26+ miles.

Probably the best known of all pure-charity endeavors in New England is the Pan Mass Challenge in August. Most people know about the original bicycle ride from Sturbridge in the southwestern corner of Massachusetts to Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod. That's 192 miles over two days.

But there are a host of other options that aren't quite as challenging, including two-day rides from Sturbridge to Wellesley (180 miles), from Wellesley to Provincetown (163 miles) and a 153-mile circle that starts and ends in Wellesley.

Still too ambitious? There are also one-day rides from Sturbridge to Bourne (111 miles, whew), Wellesley to Bourne (84 miles), Bourne to Wellesley (68 miles) a new 47-mile loop that starts and ends in Wellesley.

Not as well known as the Pan Mass Challenge is the Angel Ride in Connecticut, in May. It starts in the northwest corner of the state in Norfolk, and ends the next day 130 miles later in Mystic. The first day's ride is 80 miles, the second day, 50. Those distances are challenging but manageable for many cyclists.

Since the purpose of any charity event is to raise money for a good cause, you can't usually just jump in and do it. You have to either pay for the privilege of participating, or get out and raise some money.  (You can also volunteer in some capacity, but then you aren't participating and getting the exercise.)

Still, the thought of doing that much good for yourself while you do good for others is a powerful motivator to get outdoors and have fun.

Rock N Good Time

I'm not usually big on crowds, especially not big crowds on city streets. So it was with some trepidation that I (for purely research purposes, of course) paid my $25 entry fee and joined several thousand new friends on a balmy evening for the fourth annual "Rock N Race" in Concord, New Hampshire last May. The event benefits the Payson Center for Cancer at Concord Hospital .

The showcase of the event is a 5K run which attracts some fairly serious athletes to compete for prizes in a host of age and gender categories. The runners, of course, started out in front and disappeared instantly. Frankly, the seriousness of their competition was, I'm afraid, mostly lost on those of us there to stroll the course with friends.

The Rock N Race gets its name from the fact that, a dozen or so bands and DJs set up shop along the 5K route and play while the steam of participants flow past. And it's a very long stream.

Two things impressed me about the event. First, there were participants of every imaginable age, shape, size and fitness level. Though I'm sure a 5K walk was a real challenge for some of the folks involved, especially the youngest and the oldest, this truly was/is an event than anyone could-and did-participate in.

The second was how much fun everyone was having. I think maybe it was the feel-good factor. Everyone there knew they were doing good for others and for themselves. You can't beat it.

Visit the Rock N Race website or call 603-225-2711 ext.3076 for more information.

Finding events

There are dozens upon dozens, if not hundred of charity events scattered around our region this spring and summer. I haven't found any one place that lists them all.

Newspapers list local events as they come up, usually with enough notice to let you do some fund raising.

For biking events, there's a list at www.northatlanticvelo.org/pages/calendar/calendar.asp, which includes some charity rides. Oddly though, it doesn't include the Pan Mass Challenge and the annual Mavic/Lymphoma Charity ride at the Pedros Mountain Bike Festival in July.

I seem to have had pretty good luck with Internet searches of "charity" plus the type of event (walks, runs, bike rides, etc.), plus a state, plus 2007. Or check the website for the specific charity you choose to support.