Warrenville mayor challenges residents to exercise

Instead of banning large soft drinks and trying to regulate what people eat, here's one mayor who's taking a different approach to promote good health.

Warrenville Mayor David Brummel is challenging residents to exercise.

Brummel and the city's bicyclist and pedestrian advisory commission recently kicked off Warrenville's first Mayor's Fitness Challenge. The free program, which runs through Aug. 26, gives residents the opportunity to try to keep pace with Brummel's exercise regimen. So far, nearly 200 people have signed up.

“Exercise is good for you on many levels,” said Brummel, who is an avid runner and cyclist. “The hope (of the fitness challenge) is to encourage people to do more activities that make them healthier.”

Brummel said his years of running and cycling have taught him that a friendly competition can be a good source of motivation.

“If you have exercise buddies, you tend to do exercise more often,” he said. “So the idea here is to have the whole community doing it (the fitness challenge) together. Then we can support each other.”

The goal is to have fitness challenge participants log at least 150 minutes of “some sort of physical activity” each week, Brummel said. It's up to individuals to determine what they believe counts as physical activity. Brummel said examples could include bike riding, walking or gardening.

Those who successfully complete the program will receive a limited edition T-shirt designed by a local artist, Brummel said.

“They don't have to get the most number of minutes to win anything,” he said. “They only have to get a minimum number.”

For those who go above and beyond, award T-shirts will be handed out in several different categories.

To sign up for the fitness challenge, visit Warrenville's webpage warrenville.il.us and click “Mayor's Fitness Challenge” under the “Bulletin” headline on the left side of the page. Once at the fitness challenge page, choose “Enroll Now” and fill in the required information.

All participants must be at least 12 years old. They will need to log in to the website each week to record their time.

Registration for the fitness challenge is open until Saturday.

Anyone with questions can contact Assistant City Administrator Jennifer McMahon by emailing jmcmahon@warrenville.il.us or calling (630) 393-9427.