Barneløpet Children’s Ski/Walk Event at Decorah Prairie
DECORAH, Iowa — Help your kids shake off their cabin fever at the twelfth annual Barneløpet Saturday, February 5, at 10:00 a.m. The event is sponsored by Sons of Norway Valdres Lodge #503 in Decorah, Iowa, Sons of Norway Heimbygda Lodge #376 in Lanesboro, Minnesota, and Sons of Norway Valheim Lodge #364 in Spring Grove, Minnesota, along with Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
Barneløpet is a non-competitive ski or walk event for children ages 3-13. It is open to girls and boys of all skill levels and is a great event for the entire family to get out, get involved, and enjoy winter.
The event will take place at the Decorah Community Prairie, which is accessed by car at the south end of Ohio Street, near Aase Haugen Nursing Homes. The trail will be in a loop, with the start and finish at the site of the butterfly garden. Participants will have three different loops to choose from. Along with the main loop for skiing, there will be a shorter one for younger skiers and a specific loop for walkers.
In the absence of snow, children will walk the course. “The only type of weather that will keep us from holding the event is an ice storm or temperatures that are 0 degrees or below,” said organizer Darlene Fossum-Martin. If in doubt about weather conditions, listen to local radio stations for cancellations.
The terrain is flat and the trail is groomed. Caregivers can walk or ski the course with the children, or may choose to stand along the course and cheer.
Participants register the day of the event between 9:40 and 10:00 a.m. After completing the course, participants are welcome to hot chocolate and cookies. Special thanks to Sons of Norway members for providing the cookies.
Everyone’s a winner! Each registered participant will receive a printed bib for the event and a medal. This event is modeled after the American Birkebeiner race held in Hayward, Wisconsin.
The entry fee is $3, and participants must provide their own skis. There are a limited number of children’s skis for rent at Decorah Bicycles, and you can call them to make reservations. For more information about the Barneløpet event contact Vesterheim at (563) 382-9681.
Becky Idstrom
Editorial Assistant, Publications Office
bidstrom@vesterheim.org
563-382-9681, ext. 115
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
523 W. Water St.
P.O. Box 379
Decorah, IA 52101
vesterheim.org
Way to go to Vesterheim & Sons of Norway for being good stewards by promoting active activities! Below is a sobering excerpt from a piece entitled “A Menace to U.S. Public Health” by Rob Wilkins
“Being fat and physically inactive now has a name–Sedentary Death Syndrome or “SeDS.” Approximately 2.5 million Americans will die prematurely in the next ten years due to SeDS, a number greater than all alcohol, guns, motor vehicles, illicit drug use and sexual behavior related deaths combined. Research has identified SeDS as the second largest threat to public health (heart disease remains the number one cause of death for Americans) and is expected to add as much as $3 trillion to healthcare costs over ten years, more than twice the tax cut recently passed by the US Senate.
Approximately two-thirds of American adults are currently overweight or obese according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Due to the fact that more than one-fourth of Americans are not physically active in their leisure time, obesity has doubled, and Type 2 diabetes (also known as adult-onset diabetes) has increased tenfold. Type 2 diabetes is a devastating disease that may lead to complications such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, circulatory problems that can result in amputation, and premature death. Between 1982-1994, one third of all new cases were among people ages 10-19.
The Surgeon General of the United States recently observed that, “We are raising the most overweight youngsters in American history.” Between l980-1994, obesity in American children increased 100 percent. Studies indicate that currently one in four children are obese. Not surprising, considering that the average American child spends 900 hours per year in school but 1023 hours watching television, according to the TV-Turnoff Network. The problem is made worse by the fact that more than one-third of all young people between the ages of 12-21 do not regularly participate in vigorous physical activity.”