MCC unveils cheap method to stay fit
Courtney Packer
Many students returned from their Winter Break with the same question: What are the red footprints around campus for? Some students thought that they were in honor of Domestic Violence month.
Another idea was someone had paint on their foot and did not notice. Others had no idea what they were for.
On Jan.14, MCC held a shoelace-cutting event to officially open the “Mesa Mile.”
More than 60 MCC employees attended the event where they were given pedometers to keep track of the amount of steps they take each day.
The Mesa Mile is a trail that loops around campus that runs about a full mile long.
Trail users can walk, run, ride their bikes, anything to get their heart pumping.
Many MCC employees are taking advantage of this new opportunity to exercise according to Jim Haggerty, Manager of Fitness & Wellness.
Haggerty, shared the story of how the Mesa Mile came to MCC.
He and Gail Herndon, Aerobic/Fitness/HIC Technician, got the idea from Scottsdale Community College when they attended a Wellness Meeting at the end of the summer in 2008.
Herndon and Haggerty grasped this concept and brought it to MCC.
After gaining approval and months of planning, they set out to make the trail around campus.
After three attempts they were able to find a trail that would get them the closest to one mile in length.
The Mesa Mile’s biggest advantage is its cost: free.
An average gym membership costs between $20 and $40 a month at MCC’s neighbor gym, Bally’s Total Fitness.
Trail users also get to see different parts of MCC’s campus.
The path runs by the theater building, the new physical science building, the Kirk Center and through the middle of campus.
