May has been honored as National Physical Fitness and Sport Month since President Eisenhower formed the President’s Council on Youth Fitness in 1956. In addition to the month of May as a whole, is National Senior Health and Fitness Day was held on May 31^st. With summer right around the corner, and the arrival of all the warm weather we’ve been waiting for, the time has come to get back outside and start being active again. The employees and families of Washington Orthopaedic Center took an early leap into summer this month. This is how we have been celebrating this month!

May 6^th: The Sandy and Misery Challenge

The much anticipated local mud run, hosted by the Cowlitz Valley Runners in Castle Rock, started us off this month.  This was our second year at the event and yet again, it did not disappoint.  Our WOC team “We Know Bones,” participants all finished the grueling 3.1 mile course through various obstacles including piles of tires, lakes, man sized crawl-through piping, and quicksand-like mud pits. Although we did suffer a few cuts and bruises along the way we all had our fair share of fun. Josh, one of our X-ray Technicians, participated in the event for the second time. Although he doesn’t run regularly, he had this to say about the challenge, “More than anything I love being able to get outside and be active with others from the community. I really love the social aspect of being able to do something like this.”

May 21^st: Capital City Marathon

Washington Orthopaedic Center was also proud to be part of the Capital City Marathon this year. As a part of our local sport medicine community, we felt it was our job to let our patients know that we are active too! None of us ended up completing the entire marathon, but Shebby, our Surgical Technician, did complete the half marathon portion of the race. Several others also took part in the 5 mile race held that same day.

All Month Long: Slow Pitch & Mountain Biking

Many of our employees chose to take part in outdoor recreation all month long by participating in activities they grew up loving.

Andrew, our Certified Athletic Trainer, grew up loving baseball and even had the opportunity to take his love of baseball to George Fox University where he played for four years. Now that he has a full time job and a family to take care of, he has slightly less time for baseball, but he does still take time for the occasional local slow pitch game. When asked why he continues to participate he said, “It’s definitely a competitive outlet. It’s different from everyday life and let’s me express my competitive drive.”

Russ and Sharon, seen to the right, also continue to compete. The two of them are frequent mountain bikers, often taking off after work to get a few miles in, and recently competed in a mountain bike competition near Mount Hood. As a long time competitive motocross rider, Russ knows what it’s like to go head to head with other riders as they compete for the best time trial. However, this was Sharon’s first bike competition. Although she was really nervous at first, she said she absolutely loved the competition and had a lot of fun. In the end, Russ finished 5^th out of 40 people and Sharon finished third out of 10.

There are plenty of ways to stay active in a community like ours! Staying fit isn’t always easy and remaining healthy isn’t either. That’s why we want you to know that we are here for you when you get injured.  Call us at 360-736-2889 if you find yourself needing help recovering from your recent athletic injury.  Stay active with us at Washington Orthopaedic Center!