Roadtrip Turning Sporadic Exercise Into Routine

Roadtrip features free leagues for runners, walkers and bikers.  Participants select a journey and then all of the participants in that league will log their daily running, walking or biking miles onto the website and track their progress against others.  Each league includes a communication board, for participants to talk ‘smack’, and a map to display each individual’s location.

Some of the journeys available on the website are Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, the Florida Coastline from Daytona Beach to Miami Beach, and U.S. Highway 101 along the west coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

According to a report released by the Trust for American Health, obesity rates continued to rise last year in every state but one.  The report, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2005, presents dismal numbers. In the 10 fattest states, primarily Southeastern and Midwest states, more than one in four adults is considered obese.  The heaviest state ranked was Mississippi and the least heavy was Colorado.

Roadtrip is also sponsoring the 2006 Summer Distance Challenge in order to call attention to the nation’s physical inactivity epidemic.  Participants in the Distance Challenge, beginning May 29, 2006, will be walking and running a 210-mile course through the Grand Canyon in a “virtual” way while competing and charting their progress against others.

“We hope to reach those individuals who may have attempted to begin an exercise program but were not able to follow through with it.  This website will serve as a starting point for many lifelong fitness habits.  Participants will be motivated first by the competition with friends and family, and second, by the feeling of accomplishment from tracking their progress throughout their journey,” states Roadtrip founder Mike Collins.