The Valley Chronicle - 5K Battle of the Gymsng

Adventures4Fitness’ monthly 5K encouraged local gyms to race for local supremacy

[caption id="attachment_3552" align="alignright" width="576"] Photos by Corey Evan/The Valley Chronicle
Runners represented four area gyms at the ‘Battle of the Gyms 5K on South Elk Street April 22.[/caption] ■ By Corey Evan / Sports Reporter People have become much more health-conscious than they used to be, and local gyms have managed to cash in on this booming trend. And now Adventures4Fitness is reaping some of the benefits of the business. The monthly 5K Run/Walk saw local gyms and members (and a few non-members) converge on South Elk Street, to take advantage of a beautiful Saturday morning, as part of a special “Battle of the Gyms” on April 22. It was certainly a remote location for such a run, but it made for a great run. The way this worked was in the form of a numbers game: the gym that signed the most runners up for this 5K won bragging rights. The local gyms represented were Crunch Fitness, Fitness 19, L.A. Fitness and Planet Fitness. Powerhouse Gym was also invited, but was not represented there. While event coordinator Grecia Iñiguez takes credit for the idea of having a Battle of the Gyms, it was truly a group effort. “We kind of just decided ‘How can we…involve more people, especially those who are already interested in health and fitness?’ So just collaborating, you know, as a team and everything. It turned out to be a great idea!” As for the youth center Iniguez and her team are hoping to open, slow and steady is winning this race. “Progress is steadily growing; we have looked at a building… A few buildings, actually, throughout the Hemet and San Jacinto area,” said Iniguez. “The hardest part is getting people to give back to us. So we’re just working a lot on making sure we’re reaching out, we’re staying consistent. We’re following up with the city of Hemet, the city of San Jacinto. And most of all [making sure] that the zoning is appropriate for a youth center.” Needless to say, safety is an overriding concern. Still, Iniguez is hopeful that the youth center could be open by the start of 2018. But she makes no promises until more runners hit the starting line and put the project into the black. [caption id="attachment_3553" align="alignleft" width="576"] Runners also participated in an obstacle course after their run.[/caption] After the race, participants were offered the chance to make new friends through team building exercises, and tackle a makeshift obstacle course created with sidewalk chalk. Medals were given to the top runners of the day, as a token of appreciation for supporting the youth center project. The results for today’s race are as follows: In third place was Brian Belk, with a time of 20:13 Second place went to David Cazier, who came in with a time of 19:26 The day’s top runner, with a time of 19:12, was Heriberto Garcia. But this Battle of the Gyms went to Fitness 19, which had the most members running and the most involvement with the race. Manager Victor Cervantes was certainly happy to be of help. “It’s good to see people involved, coming together and representing health,” said Cervantes. And while his gym is small, it packs a punch! “We’ve got cardio, circuit-training, free weights, classes, an affordable gym… We’re small square footage, smaller than a couple of the other gyms, but what I like about it is the camaraderie and the environment overall.” Iniguez thanks all those who helped make this and other monthly 5K walk/runs possible, including the gyms represented and GNC. Find future 5K runs and other ways to help make the organization’s dream of a children’s center reality by following Adventures4Fitness on Facebook, by searching “Adventures4Fitness.”