The Office of Wellness and Health Promotion has launched its annual moveWELL campaign, which aims to assist WVU students to get up, get out and get moving at least 30 minutes most days. MoveWELL is a component of WELLWVU’s overall liveWELL campaign, which aims to encourage a cultural shift towards fostering health and wellbeing on campus through educational activities and social marketing initiatives.

Activities surrounding moveWELL are designed to help students understand national guidelines for exercise, and use movement as a mood management technique for high levels of stress, anxiety and/or depression. Additionally, moveWELL tools and programs have been developed to assist students in identifying the impact of exercise on their overall wellbeing, and how choices in areas of sleeping, eating and alcohol use support or get in the way of their exercise goals. Another objective of the moveWELL initiative is to allow students to compare and learn how to focus on intrinsic (values, needs and expectations) versus extrinsic (weight loss or gain, body image) factors for exercise. Students will be given the opportunity to practice such techniques at moveWELL tabling events throughout the month of April.

WELLWVU has planned two moveWELL events allowing students to get up and get moving while contributing to worthy causes, including the Ryan’s Rally 5K Run/Walk and the Yards for Yeardley 5K. WELLWVU has teamed up with the Mountaineer Maniacs to host the fourth annual Ryan’s Rally race to raise awareness of violence on the WVU campus and surrounding communities, while helping a former student in need. All proceeds from Ryan’s Rally 5K Run/Walk will be donated to Ryan Diviney and his family for medical related expenses. In 2009 Ryan was brutally assaulted in Morgantown while attending WVU, and has remained in a coma-like state ever since.

The Ryan’s Rally 5K will take place on Saturday April 9 at the Student Recreation Center beginning at 10 a.m. All participants will receive a free shirt, and are invited to attend the event following the race for food, entertainment and an appearance by the Mountaineer.

The One Love Foundation is being brought to WVU through the Yards for Yeardley event by the WVU Women’s Lacrosse team, partnered with WELLWVU. The Yards for Yeardley 5K twilight/glow walk and run will be hosted as a joint effort of sports teams across the country who are committed to running 1 million yards in 30 days in memory of Yeardley Love. Love was a student at the University of Virginia who was a victim of domestic violence.

Yards for Yeardley will take place at the Student Recreation Center on Friday April 22, with registration beginning at 6 p.m. and the race following at 6:30 p.m. Participants will be provided with glow bracelets, and are encouraged to attend the post-race event for yoga and stretch sessions, water, food, WELLWVU giveaways and raffles from area businesses.

Visit WELLWVU online to learn more about moveWELL programs or activities, or contact Laura Stefanow at LStefano@mail.wvu.edu for more information about moveWELL events.

-WVU-

4/8/16

CONTACT: Hannah Wigal, WELLWVU
304.293.3568, hwigal@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.