By Eric Bourque
THE VANGUARD
NovaNewsNow.com
A spokesman for the HeartLand Tour says organizers were pleased with the turnout for this year’s event, notably with the increased number of young people who took part.
The annual tour – a provincewide cycling event designed to promote public awareness of cardiovascular disease (and how to help prevent it) – was in Yarmouth July 17.
About 230 people took part in the Yarmouth event, including not just bikers but runners and walkers as well.
The Yarmouth leg of the 2010 HeartLand Tour began at the Grand Hotel.
People wanting to take part – but perhaps just interested in doing a portion of the Yarmouth route – were invited to join in at various points along the course, including the Port Maitland and Par-en-Bas schools and the Yarmouth Light.
The plan was for the tour to be over in time for participants to join the Seafest parade, which they did.
“We were very, very happy with the turnout and this year a lot of youth participated,” said Jack Harding, community leader for the HeartLand Tour in Yarmouth.
Getting more young people to take part had been a goal for organizers heading into the 2010 tour.
The Yarmouth section of the tour this year was held the same day as the Sheila Poole 10-kilometre road race and some of the HeartLand Tour participants also did the Sheila Poole event.
“We had at least 15 people who participated in the Sheila Poole run and then we transported them out to where the HeartLand Tour was after the race,” Harding said. “They got on their bicycles and rode with us the rest of the way. We were very pleased that people were so keen to run the 10-K race and also want to participate (in the bike tour).”
“We were very, very happy with the turnout and this year a lot of youth participated.” - Jack Harding, community leader for the HeartLand Tour in Yarmouth.
This was the fourth year for the HeartLand Tour, which this year began in Halifax July 10 and consisted of eight legs across Nova Scotia, Yarmouth being the last.
Harding was a member of the core team this year that did the whole tour, a group that included Yarmouth County residents Don Cook and Chris d’Entremont, the Argyle MLA, as well as Clare residents Mike and Ruth Saulnier.
About two dozen people made up the core team for 2010.
“It was great,” said Harding, referring to his first time doing all eight stages of the tour. “Certainly the turnout across the province has increased. It was really exciting to see that.”
As for the reason the tour began in the first place – raising awareness about heart disease and steps people can take to try to stay healthy – Harding says he feels the tour is succeeding.
“People now know what the HeartLand Tour is about,” he said. “(More) people do know how important it is to stay physically active, so the message is getting out right across the province and that was validated by increased numbers in every community that we went.”
