Results have been tabulated for the winners of the 2013 Farmers Market Fun Run, held on May 18 to benefit the Columbus County Community Farmers Market. Click here for the event website.

On Saturday, May 18th, the Columbus County Community Farmers Market will be your one-stop spot for a healthy lifestyle. Pick up your local fruits and vegetables and participate in the fourth annual Farmers Market Fun Run & Walk. 

The event, which had 226 finishers last year, welcomes everyone from group walkers to competitive runners to join together in a 3.1 mile run/walk. The run/walk will begin at 9 AM with a 1/2 mile kids fun run beginning at 8:45 AM.  Registration is now open at www.fmrun.com. Entry fee is $5 without a t-shirt and $15 for entry with a t-shirt. 

The event will also raise money for youth running programs such as Girls On The Run, Girls On Track and STRIDE, a running program geared towards boys in 3rd to 5th grade. Each of these programs teaches youth the value – both physical and mental  –  of staying active. GOTR and GOT teams from Evergreen Elementary and a GOT team from Nakina Middle will participate.  

If you’d like to do more to assist, the event welcomes sponsors and volunteers. For more information, visit the Volunteers & Sponsors page at www.fmrun.com. 

The Farmers Market is located at 132 Government Complex Rd. Whiteville, NC. Event details are available at www.fmrun.com.

I wanted to share my experience from yesterday with you because you [Take the Lake] indirectly inspired it.  

I've participated in the walk the last four years.  After the second time, I wanted to run it the next year.  However, I was a bit too ambitious in my training and ended up with

The Columbus County Torch 5K is approaching, on April 27. Click here for more information and registration.

While you're at it, check out the Farmers Market Fun Run website.

Don't forget to visit our FITNESS CALENDAR, at right for all the great fitness events in Columbus County.

Here are five good reasons why you should join in the fun:

• It’s good for your health. The more active you are after age 55, the better your chances of enjoying life past 95!
• It’s simple. The competition is just for fun, so you shouldn’t be intimidated. Some events are similar to carnival games; just walk up and try it out. You can only lose if you don’t participate.
• It’s a great deal. For $12, you get an event t-shirt and, on April 24, lunch at Legion Stadium. (Bowling is $8 extra and golf is $20 extra.)
• You will help promote better health for Columbus County seniors. Play a game, have some fun, and you’re an inspiration – it’s that easy.
• It’s rewarding. With 1st, 2nd & 3rd place medals awarded in 5-year age brackets for both men and women, your chances of taking a BOOMER Games medal home with you are very good!

Register by APRIL 12 at any Columbus County senior center, parks and recreation or online, at www.columbusco.org.

For the fourth year, Columbus County has been ranked as the least healthy of the 100 counties in North Carolina, and many people wonder what they can do to improve this.

There is no single answer, but by far the most common tip for better health is to be more active, and that is what organizers of the Columbus BOOMER Games are hoping to create: opportunities for seniors to be more active.

Deadline for registration is April 12. 

Though the games are competitions, people over age 55 are encouraged to participate just for the fun of it and for the chance to enjoy amateur sports.

Promoting physical activity, the games reach far beyond sports, and include corn hole, horseshoes and even spincasting, which involves dropping a fishing line into a target.

The Games also include the arts, with competitions for painting, sculpting, writing and much more. Even the sports competitions are designed for everyone to enjoy. The football and basketball toss events are easy and fun. 

Events that may spur even a hint of competition may be golf, cycling, bowling and a 5K run, which will all be held before the big day on April 24.

Medals will be awarded in five-year age brackets, from age 55 to 100-plus, and by sex, so everyone will have a good chance to take home some gold, or silver, or bronze.

Organizers hope to join the ranks of the other 99 counties who compete in the N.C. Senior Games each year, and if participation merits it, Columbus could be a part of the three-decade-old organization in 2014.

More information can be found at Columbusco.org.

Concerned with increasing health challenges Columbus County seniors face, County Commissioner James Prevatte has taken a small step that might make a big difference.

Prevatte registered for the Columbus BOOMER Games, a new event scheduled for late April that offers exciting art and activity challenges for people age 55 or older. 

The deadline to register is 

We are very pleased this year to help organize the Columbus BOOMER Games This is a pilot event to bring the N.C. Senior Games to our county in 2014.

What are the BOOMER Games? They are fun, they're a little challenging, and even more fun! 

For example, look at the lists below. Wonder what spincasting is? We give you a rod and reel and you cast the line and try to make the weight land in a circle. Easy!

ACTIVITIES: CORN HOLE • HORSE SHOES • BASKETBALL TOSS • 5K RUN • FOOTBALL TOSS • SPINCASTING • CYCLING • FUN WALK • GOLF • SOFTBALL THROW • BOWLING

ARTS: PAINTING • DRAWING • QUILTING • SCULPTURE • POTTERY • PHOTOGRAPHY • BASKETS • JEWELRY • WOODWORKING • WRITING • STAINED GLASS • NEEDLE CRAFT

Speaking of fun, we hope you will join us, even if you don't really want to compete. When you sign up, you show support for fitness in Columbus County!

Visit www.Columbusco.org for information and an entry form, or use these direct links:

            INFORMATION       APPLICATION  

Speaking of competing, let me clue you in on a little secret: You will compete in the activities against only people near your age and gender, so a 77 year old woman will compete against only women ages 75-79. 

And we will award first, second and third place for all events! (All this is for the activities only, and not the arts.)

The events are in late April, with the BIG day of games on April 24. (Golf, bowling, cycling and the 5K run will be earlier.)

So please, download the application pdf, fill and print it out, sign it with a check for $12 (plus fees for golf or bowling if you like) stuff it all in an envelope and mail it in. The Deadline is April 12, so you don't have much time!

It is very important that people show BOOMER support so we can bring the official N.C. Senior Games here. Our seniors deserve this!

Yours in fitness,
Mark Gilchrist and the Columbus BOOMER Games Committee

(And don't forget Take the Lake this summer)

Five friends recently bicycled 275 miles from Naples, Fla. To Key West, ending at the southernmost point in the U.S., and one is forming a cycling club here. 

Mo Rivenbark of Clarkton, Steve Garner of Winston-Salem, Ken Riddick of Morganton, N.C., and Leroy Bickel and Rick Schumacher of Burlington, Iowa accomplished the ride in four days.

Riding along the Tamiami Trail through the Florida Everglades, they saw much wildlife new to them, from alligators, to birds of many species, turtles and snakes. Cruising at 20 mph with no windows, they enjoyed the beauty of the many species of trees, plants and flowers, including wild orchids.

As they biked deep into the Everglades, they learned the value of, and the problems with, preserving this giant, delicate eco-system.

As they rode from Florida City into the Keys, they enjoyed the spectacular, breath-taking views. With the Atlantic Ocean on their left, and the Gulf of Mexico on their right, they crossed 43 bridges before arriving in Key West.

Their last night, spent on Conch Key, was a major rest stop before tackling the 63-mile ride to the end of U.S. Route 1.

They especially enjoyed riding over the Seven-Mile Bridge, an experience that they described as exciting and riveting.

“What a rush to do this on a bicycle,” Rivenbark and the others said.

All of the riders belong to local bicycle clubs, and Rivenbark is trying to start a club for Columbus, Bladen and Robeson riders. Any cyclist interested in group rides may join, and regardless of ability. Contact Rivenbark at (910)234-0158 or lindaandmo@embarqmail.com, or Eddie Madden at (910)876-0137 or emadden@elizabethtownnc.org.

Reprinted from The News Reporter and Whiteville.com.


Seniors throughout the county will enjoy friendly competition and healthy exercise next spring, thanks to a group of volunteers bringing the Columbus BOOMER games here.

The project, which is working to bring the official North Carolina Senior Games here starting in 2014, is organizing a similar set of competitions for next year.