Dr. Tom Woodall began a “Run for Your Life” program in 1966 after unofficially meeting with and coaching a few novice exercisers for several months. The program began with the men (no women at that time) meeting on the outdoor track to run in the morning and at noon. After several years some 200 individuals had begun the jogging program and it became a little more organized and official as screenings were completed on the participants, record keeping was done with participants logging their own workouts, and motivational gimmicks were employed. By 1982, the Human Performance Lab was up and running, a graduate curriculum for exercise science was added, and a cardiac rehabilitation program (METS) at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center was established. The “Adult Fitness Program” as it became known had Walk, Swim, and Run for Your Life groups. When Dr. Woodall retired, Dr. Jill Owen took over the reigns as director of the program. She was promoted to chair of the Kinesiology and Sports Studies department in 2007 and at that time Stacey Ruholl took over as director with Mark Kattenbraker and Traci Worby as associate directors. The program now has grown to over 160 active members and resides in the student recreation center, the indoor/outdoor track, and the Lantz pool.
