The American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association - the leading voluntary health organization focused on heart and brain health for all, invited riders for a virtual CycleNation event to bring awareness to stroke and heart disease. Warrenton CycleNation, sponsored by Fauquier Health, was a vision that came to fruition in May 2022. In support of May as Stroke Awareness Month, the CycleNation event raised $16,780 in support of the American Heart Association & American Stroke Association.
“The past year has showed us that focusing on mental and physical health is critical,” says Rich Pinson, Director of Cardiovascular Services for Fauquier Health. “CycleNation offered Warrenton an opportunity to encourage more movement for better brain health, raise funds to support wellness in our community, and lifesaving educating on how to respond to a stroke or heart emergency.”
CycleNation is more than a program – it’s an active movement empowering people in a specific area to use road and stationary bikes to get brain and heart healthy — all while raising funds to end the cycle of stroke and heart disease. Cycling helps maintain strong brain function, processing speed and mental sharpness. Other movement activities from walking to running, and at home exercising, were included as part of the event to encourage activity from all levels of fitness.
“After two years of stress and anxiety related to COVID-19, we collectively thought it was important as an organization to focus on healthy behaviors. Chronic or long periods of stress can lead to physical changes in the body which may increase stroke risk,” commented Sarah Cubbage, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Fauquier Health. “We are so grateful to the community organizations that got involved to make this a success.”
After one full month of friendly competition, the Warrenton CycleNation contenders completed a grand total of 632 hours of fitness activity. The leaderboard teams consisted of Fauquier Health, Old Town Athletic Campus (OTAC), and Fauquier County Chamber of Commerce.
Kim Forsten, Partner, Old Town Athletic Campus, said, “It was an honor to participate in the Cycle Nation Event this year. Our members and staff members enthusiastically support these kinds of community activities. The challenge of raising funds for a great cause and accumulating miles gave us a compelling and valuable reason to do the work. The individual rewards of enjoying camaraderie and friendship one another, and improving our own personal health while participating in this great event added to the joy and positive outcomes!”
Warrenton’s CycleNation event was a signature event of the American Heart Association’s Heart Challenge program which is designed to help companies positively impact employee overall health and wellbeing. The program is anchored in a series of events that inspires employees to be more engaged, reconnect with colleagues, get in their physical activity, support a great cause and have a lot of fun doing it.
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