Get moving with Asheville Parks & Recreation’s city-wide free Fit 50 Challenge

Asheville -- City of Asheville Community News January 24, 2022  Posted on January 24, 2022 by Kim Miller

Ashevillians looking for motivation to get moving during colder months can join friends, neighbors, and other community members as the city runs, walks, and rolls during the free Fit 50 Challenge. Back for its second year, Asheville Parks & Recreation’s challenge allows participants to track their progress as they complete 50 miles between February 1-April 1.

“Taking a brisk 30 minute walk, hike, ride, or stroll each day has tremendous benefits,” according to Alic Wynn, Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center Facility Supervisor and Certified Personal Trainer. “The Fit 50 Challenge offers a great opportunity to improve or maintain overall health and wellness goals. The challenge builds on the encouragement and spirit of our community in a way that shows we all want to see each other succeed.”

Running, walking, and rolling around Asheville allow residents to explore, connect, and discover. These benefits are great on their own, but Fit 50 Challenge participants can also win prizes. All registrants receive an exclusive sticker to display as a badge of honor on a favorite water bottle, bike, or notebook. The five challengers who record the top five mileage totals win prize packs.  Of those, the two with the most total miles win an Apple Watch (first place) and AirPods (second place).

Miles can be completed anywhere by running, walking, jogging, skating, cycling, or whichever way challengers choose. With numerous natural surface trails in parks and neighborhoods, treadmills and tracks at community centers, self-guided tours such as the Urban Trail, and 8 miles of paved greenways, the City of Asheville offers a variety of ways to enjoy the city at no cost.

Find out more information and register for the challenge

In addition to the Fit 50 Challenge, Asheville Parks & Recreation hosts regular walking clubs, hikes, adaptive recreation, races and relays, and story trails throughout the city. Download the AVL Rec app for iPhone, search programs online, or browse Asheville Park & Recreation’s programming guide for the latest opportunities.

About Asheville Parks & Recreation
Established in 1954, the Asheville Parks & Recreation Department manages a unique collection of more than 55 public parks, playgrounds, and open spaces throughout the city in a system that also includes full-complex recreation centers, swimming pools, Riverside Cemetery, sports fields and courts, and community centers that offer a variety of wellness-, education-, and culture-related programs for Ashevillians of all ages. With 8 miles of paved greenways and numerous natural surface trails, its complete portfolio acts as the foundation of a vibrant hub for the people of Asheville to connect with their neighbors and explore the natural beauty of a livable and walkable city.

Driven by the promise that Asheville is a better and safer place when everyone from infants to retirees has the opportunity to be supported, healthy, and successful, Asheville Parks & Recreation was the first nationally-accredited municipal recreation department in the United States. For more information, visit www.ashevillenc.org/parks.