MANSFIELD, Ohio – Lori Todd, Eugeneio Zabaleta, Heidi Them and Cindy Shafley had a complex strategy to win the Mansfield HeartChase Saturday morning.
“We acted like we wanted a strategy but we never got one together,” said Them in amazement after winning first place. “Our strategy really was to go out and have fun and enjoy this beautiful day. It was for a great cause. I think we all have a connection to someone with heart issues. It was awesome.”
The team, called “Team Braveheart,” completed challenges, solved puzzles and uncovered clues in the innovative HeartChase community event which began at the gazebo in downtown Mansfield. Participants then walked, ran or jogged to 10 heart-healthy stations spread out in a one-square-mile radius of downtown.
Each team scored points upon completion of the task and additional points could be scored by finding additional hidden tags along the way. The game was also mobile, including the HeartChase App, in which participants uploaded pictures, scanned QR codes and live-tracked their progress.
The event raises about $30,000 for the American Heart Association, said Brad Peffley, vice-president of Clinical Services at OhioHealth MedCentral, a major sponsor of the HeartChase.
“The American Heart Association wanted to do something different because there’s so many walks for so many different groups,” he said. “We decided to do it here in the downtown area to just kind of get people downtown. We’ve got stations spread out that are all over downtown,” Peffley said.
In addition to the physical activities, participants learned information about heart heath and facts about other cardiovascular diseases such as a stroke.
Nicole Britton, a management associate at Richland Bank, manned the “Selfie Tower” station, where a member of a team had to climb the steps of 10 floors of the Richland Bank building, snap a selfie at the top, come back down and get a code from her to complete the station.
“[The bank] always likes to participate in community events,” she said. “It’s something we’ve done for the past two years and we have a lot of fun. It’s a lot fun to see people out supporting a good cause.”
Donald Cobb and Brandy Burkett were out of breath by the time they reached the top of the bank building. The duo was part of the Kokosing team.
“That’s what our company does, we’re always doing good things for others,” Cobb said while trying to catch his breath. “It also builds comradery among the co-workers.”
Lisa Young, Deanie Kehres, Sharon See, and Miranda and Becca Young were on a team from the Ashland University College of Nursing. They had a fun time at the station, “Catch the Birdie,” where one member of the team used a batt mitten set and the other member tried to catch the birdie in a basket on their heads.
Ken Shearer and Mandy Miller of the “Lub Dub and the Pacemakers” team were spotted at the “Spot a Stroke” station, in the parking lot of the utilities department off of Park Avenue. Shearer had to complete 20 burpee exercises and Miller had to button up a long sleeved shirt with one hand, to simulate the difficulty of losing mobility of one side of the body – a common side effect of a stroke.
Missi Smith, Mindy Butler, Natalie Kentoch, Tracey Angeloff, and Olivia Tesca made up the team Heartthrobs. The women had on matching shirts with silly horse names on the back along with handmade “jockey hats” with taped eyeglasses on them, in honor of the Kentucky Derby.
The OhioHealth MedCentral Heart and Vascular workers won the best team spirit award for their energetic vibe, blowing a bullhorn and having fun throughout the chase.
Twitter: @angelnichole222
“The American Heart Association wanted to do something different because there’s so many walks for so many different groups,” he said. “We decided to do it here in the downtown area to just kind of get people downtown. We’ve got stations spread out that are all over downtown,” Brad Peffley said.
