The length of a marathon is 26.2 miles, but we know mothers and caregivers go twice the distance, twice as hard and give twice as much love, care and time. GirlTrek calls this a Mamathon — twice the distance of a marathon, 52.4 miles.
This May, GirlTrek, a national nonprofit and health movement that activates thousands of Black women to be change makers in their lives and communities through walking, is sponsoring Mamathon 2016, a walking challenge, where women pledge to walk 52.4 miles (about 2.5 miles a day) during the month of May to honor their mother or the mother figures in their lives.
READ: #BlackGirlHealing: I Have Been Afraid That Stress Will Kill Me
“Thank you, mom and thank you to all the other mommas in our lives, who are here and gone, for giving so much to us,” says T. Morgan Dixon, GirlTrek co-founder.
GirlTrek is a family affair. Not only do Black women walk with their co-workers, neighbors and friends, they invite their daughters, mothers, grandmothers, aunties and sisters to join them as they walk in the direction of their healthiest, most-fulfilled lives.
Kareisha Davis, 37, is a GirlTrek neighborhood captain. She leads a walk five times a week at Joseph C. Carter Park in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Her mother 55-year-old Olivia Charlton walks with her along with six other mother/daughter pairs. The youngest is 12.
READ: Unapologetically Healthy! 26 Of The Realest Reasons Black Women Walk
“My mom and I are tied at the hip. Anything positive that I do and vice versa, we bring the other one along,” says Davis, who works at the Urban League of Broward County. “This is not a walking group. This is a movement. We have a good time while we are changing lives.”
Ten-year-old, Jocelyn walks three to four times a week with her mother, 42-year-old Joy Durham at Bear Creek Pioneers Park in Houston, Texas.
“At first she would grumble about it, but now she’s telling me to get dressed, “Let’s go!” Joy says. “She enjoys walking because we’re together and because she wants to be healthy.”
Together, GirlTrek volunteers from Seattle to Washington D.C. and Baltimore to Oakland, Calif. have inspired 250,000 supporters and more than 61,000 walkers from across the country to lead more active lives through establishing a routine of walking.
WHAT: Mamathon 2016 Pledge: “I PLEDGE: To go the distance for my mom or loved one in the month of May by walking 52.4 miles in her honor. I promise to celebrate her hard work and sacrifices by not letting anything — and I mean anything — keep me from my goal. When I complete my 52.4 miles and cross the finish line, it will be a victory for me and a victory for the woman I love!”
WHEN: Mamathon 2016: May 1-May 31. Mother’s Day Weekend: GirlTrek is sponsoring Mother/Daughter photo shoots across the country in cities like Baltimore.; Birmingham, Alabama; New Orleans; Detroit, St. Louis and more.
HOW: Visit www.girltrek.org to take the Mamathon Pledge. Follow #Mamathon on social media.
Contact Jewel Bush, National Director of Communications at [email protected] to help coordinate media interviews in your media market. Visit www.girltrek.org for more information.
Watch GirlTrek’s mini-documentary that highlights what happens when women walk for #BlackGirlHealing below:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOrDJcYamqQ&w=560&h=315]
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