More than 2,000 people attended The Daniel Plan Fun Walk & Run today, June 11, on the Saddleback Church – Lake Forest campus, with about 1,200 registered entries in the 5K, 10K and Kids Run. The event featured an appearance by Austin Andrews, a former contestant on NBC’s hit television series “The Biggest Loser” as well as celebrating the success of many people on The Daniel Plan who have lost 40 pounds or more!
Race results are here. The Daniel Plan Biggest Losers list here.
Photography – Click Here
Video Recap – Click Here
Event Highlights
- After sounding the starting horn for the 5K, Pastor Rick ran over to the Kids Run starting line. He lined up the runners, and crouched down, as if in a starting block position, and darted off with the children ages 11 and under.
- More than 50 sponsors and exhibitors shared free samples of healthy foods and information within the Health Expo area. Perhaps one of the more unique exhibitions helped people “get dunked” in a water tank to accurately measure body fat percentage.
- Other activities included cooking demonstrations by Chef Jenny Ross, owner of 118 Degrees restaurant, and Dr. Daniel Amen’s wife and author Tana who showed how to make healthy desserts with her daughter Chloe. A talented band played music throughout the morning keeping the environment lively.
Media Coverage
- Orange County Register: Thousands participate at Rick Warren’s Daniel Plan run, Rick Warren to team up with ‘Biggest Loser’ finalist
- Christian Post: Saddleback Church’s Fitness Program Gets 1200 People Running, Biggest Loser’ Contestant, Calif. Church Celebrate 200,000 Pound Weight Loss
- Patch.com: Thousands Attend Saddleback Church Fun Run
Racers’ Perspectives
Lisa Osterkamp, finished third in her age group, crossing the 10K finish line in 56 minutes. She said she’s been on The Daniel Plan and it’s helped her lose weight, lower her body fat percentage and enable her to start running.
“For me, the most interesting thing about today was while I was on the 10K course, there was an eight-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy running it with their dad. I thought that was awesome!”
Annette Stephens and Rose Dunlap learned about the race after they started attending Saddleback Church together, so it was fitting for them to walk the 10K together as well. What’s next for them? They decided to get started on The Daniel Plan.
Barbara Sladeck and her 13-year-old son Troy, ran the 10K together, finishing it in one hour, 9 minutes. This mother-son duo started the year with a commitment to eliminate drinking soda and start running together. Troy said it’s “fun to do it together.” Barbara also “got dunked” measuring her body fat percentage.
Brandi Morinoue took first place honors for women ages 35-39, finishing the 10K in just over 55 minutes. She is a physician’s assistant at the Center for New Medicine, which was one of the event sponsors. She said, “I loved having our booth here and seeing so many people I recognized that go to Saddleback.”
Mark Kelly took second place in his age group, finishing the 10K in about 42 minutes. He said he enjoyed the race, and that it was a good course. The next step for him, Mark said, is to help others on The Daniel Plan by volunteering his time to work with individuals and groups to get them personalized attention.
According to Dee Eastman, director of The Daniel Plan, the event celebrated the successes of everyone who are establishing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
“It was amazing to see so many teams within our church pull off this event, and be able see so many people making progress towards their goals,” Dee said. “There is one woman, Teri Miller, who reported today having lost 63 pounds since starting The Daniel Plan. We had a stage-full of others who had lost more than 30 pounds. I’m grateful, but also want to continue sharing what we have with as many people as possible.”