The Reily Student Recreation Center hosted “Core for a Cure,” a plank challenge to raise awareness for breast cancer, as part of a larger series of monthly events. The event on Oct. 14 was open to everyone and offered complimentary screenings and information on breast cancer.
Georgi Gardiner, associate professor of philosophy and gender and sexuality studies, blew the competition out of the water, winning the contest by holding a plank for eleven minutes. A circus performer, Gardiner showed up to the competition as it neared its close, and said she could have gone on longer had the event not ended.
“I actually don’t know how long I would have gone on for … I wasn’t struggling,” Gardiner said.
Along with bragging rights, Gardiner won a Smart water bottle. Each monthly challenge at Reily comes with a fitness-related prize to incentivize students to participate and form healthy habits.
Megan Byas, assistant director of fitness and wellness, organized and worked the event alongside student trainers and campus partners from The Well for Health Promotion to share breast cancer resources with participants.
“It’s a student-run type of event … it’s really just to kind of get the information out there about fitness and just get people to think about interacting with our staff in a different kind of way,” Byas said.
The plank challenge was devoted to breast cancer, as October is breast cancer awareness month. Tables sat front and center in the lobby of Reily, sharing resources about the benefits that exercise has for survivors and those undergoing treatment.
Contestants could also take advantage of complimentary wellness screenings that give participants a breakdown of health information such as body composition, hydration levels, metabolic rate and more.
The monthly fitness challenges attract individuals from all corners of campus, facilitating faculty and student interaction outside of the classroom.“I think it’s kind of funny to be competing with the students,” Gardener said. “I kind of enjoy the silliness of that.”
Byas finds that the convenience and location of these contests bring in individuals who otherwise may not participate in many campus events.
“It’s hard to, in my opinion, engage the male students in the facility,” Byas said, referring to the disproportionate gender ratios in group fitness classes and other Reily events. “This was definitely a way to try to target them as well, so that there was something that could appeal to both men and women in the facility.”
The next fitness challenge will be a pushup challenge on Nov. 3, as part of Body Respect Week. Students can also get excited about a variety of events coming up in the spring.
“I’m definitely wanting to expand on the wellness side of things … We have a lot of emphasis on fitness, of course, but I feel like wellness could definitely be a continued focus as well to pivot to for the upcoming semesters,” Byas said.