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Bass Pro Fitness Festival: Movin' Out

The festival is growing; this year, the outdoors is the theme.

It’s easy to stay indoors when you have so many interesting and stimulating ways to occupy your time. The Internet, TV, video games and movies are just a few of the diversions that keep us inside, and Bass Pro Shops is doing everything it can to get you out.

In the second annual Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Fitness Festival, event chairman Martin MacDonald says that the principle is to get people active and outdoors and showcase the natural beauty of 417-land: rolling hills, colorful fall foliage and well-kept trails for avid runners and fitness enthusiasts.
“We see Springfield and the Ozarks as the true outdoor center of America,” says MacDonald. “People are realizing that they need to embrace a healthier lifestyle and to get outdoors, and this festival gives them a way to do that.”

The Outdoor Fitness Festival includes fitness events with marathons, runs, cycling rides, kayaking, canoeing, fishing and GPS Geocaching classes and competitions. Guests can also partake in various health and wellness fairs, along with health conferences and skills classes.

Since last year, the festival has doubled in size and scope. It now covers two weekends (October 25–26 and October 31–November 2) instead of one and includes several new activities to encourage outdoor activity and appreciation. More than 1,500 participants were registered for the fitness events last year from 17 states and Canada, and Bass Pro event coordinators expect the festival to grow even more.

“After we launched it last year, we got great feedback and we were pleased with the results,” says MacDonald. “This year, the event kind of skyrocketed from there.”

With such a broad array of activities and events, the festival is gaining attention in the fitness community nationwide. The Outdoor Fitness Festival has been advertised in national fitness magazines such as Runner’s World, and Trail Runner Magazine and has attracted many national sponsors like New Balance, FedEx and Smoothie King, along with local sponsors such as St. John’s and CoxHealth.

This year hosts several new events: the Dogwood Canyon 50K/25K Trail Run, the St. John’s Tour de Bass Cycling Rides for 100-, 70-, 35- and 20-mile rides and a 9-mile family ride, and a family camping excursion with the Off Road Camping Club at Lake Springfield.

Several fitness celebrities are joining Bass Pro Shops for the festival to help promote outdoor activity. Former Olympians Frank Shorter, Jason Pyrah and Jeff Galloway join marathon champions Dick Beardsley and Bill Rodgers at events the second weekend of the festival.

Also new to this year’s event, Bass Pro Shops is helping sponsor the Missouri Valley Cross Country Conference Championships hosted by Missouri State University. After the competition, the MSU home team helps host a Kids and Youth Cross Country Meet and Fun Run to inspire them to become more active and to get involved in sports.

“Kids today are spending way too much time indoors,” says MacDonald. “We’re creating awareness for parents and grandparents to get the kids outdoors, and our kids and family activities are a way to help them do that.”

Also aimed toward kids, the new GPS Geocaching event is a youth activity focused on moving kids outdoors. GPS Geocaching is a fairly new sport that uses GPS systems to navigate through a treasure hunt. The event takes individuals and family groups of up to four people on a weeklong treasure hunt starting on October 25 at Lake Springfield Park.

Apart from the activities, several classes and clinics offer important know-how about the outdoors. The new Family Camping Excursion with the Off Road Camping Club teaches camping skills to families at Lake Springfield. Also, the Outdoor Skills Village has hands-on learning geared toward all ages, including instruction about safe edibles in the outdoors, fishing, archery and many other topics.

Returning activities from last year’s festival include the Bass Pro Shops Conservation Marathon, Maynard Cohick Half Marathon, Corporate Relay Marathon, Ozark Greenways 10K/5K Run, Kid’s and Youth Cross Country Meet and Fun Run, Fitness and Health Fair, CoxHealth Wellness Walk and the Corporate Wellness Conference.

The event puts a major emphasis on health and wellness with the Corporate Wellness Conference, which teaches businesses the benefits of implementing a health and wellness program for their employees. The Fitness and Health Fair will offer health screenings, tips and services from healthcare professionals.

Not in shape for this year’s fitness events? Several training programs from local sponsors begin for next year’s festival starting in May.
For more information about the festival, a full calendar of Bass Pro Shops events and registration information, visit basspro.com/fitness.

Bass Pro Outdoor Fitness Festival Calendar of Events

Friday, October 24:
• Dogwood Canyon 25K/50K Trail Run Registration
12 p.m.–7 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World

Saturday, October 25:
• St. John’s Tour de Bass Cycling Rides Registration
6:30 a.m.–7:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Tour de Bass Cycling 70/100-mile rides
7:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Tour de Bass Cycling 20/35-mile rides
8:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Great Canoe Race
9 a.m., Lake Springfield
• Tour de Bass Family Fun 9-mile ride
9:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Great Kayaking Race
1 p.m., Lake Springfield
• GPS Geo Caching Weeklong Competition start
4 p.m., Lake Springfield

Sunday, October 26
• Packet pickup for Dogwood Canyon 25K/50K Trail Run
6 a.m.–7:30 a.m., Dogwood Canyon
• Dogwood Canyon 25K/50K Trail Run
8 a.m., Dogwood Canyon
• Beginner Backpacking Clinic
1 p.m., Ritter Springs Park

Friday, October 31
• Corporate Wellness Fair
7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Corporate Wellness Conference
9:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Registration for all races
10 a.m.–8 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Fitness and Health Fair
10 a.m.–8 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri State University Reception and Dinner
6 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• OffRoad Camping Club Excursion
Friday and Saturday, Lake Springfield

Saturday, November 1
• Early Registration for 5K/10K Run and CoxHealth Wellness Walk
6:30 a.m.–7:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Ozark Greenways 5K/10K Run
8 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• CoxHealth Wellness Walk registration
8 a.m.–8:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• CoxHealth Wellness Walk
9 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Outdoor Skills Village – learn about archery, wild edibles and gain some valuable tips and tricks from fishing classes
9 a.m.–3 p.m., Lake Springfield
• Registration for marathons only
9 a.m.–8 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Fitness and Health Fair
9 a.m.–8 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Ozark Greenways 5K/10K Run Awards Ceremony
10:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Jeff Galloway Training School
11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Meet
12 p.m.–1:30 p.m., Springfield Underground
• Kids’s and Youth Cross Country Meet & Fun Run
1:30 p.m., Springfield Underground
• GPS Geo Caching Clinic
1:30 p.m., Lake Springfield
• Canoeing Clinic
1:30 p.m., Lake Springfield
• Kayaking Clinic
2:30 p.m., Lake Springfield
• Leave No Trace Awareness Workshop
3:30 p.m., Lake Springfield
• Team and Training Reception with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m., Bass Pro Shops White River Room
• Pasta Dinner
6:30 p.m., Bass Pro Shops White River Room

Sunday, November 2
• Packet pickup for marathons
5:30 a.m.–6:30 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Bass Pro Shops Conservation Marathon
7 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Maynard Cohick Half Marathon
7 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Corporate Relay Marathon
7 a.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Fitness and Health Fair
8 a.m.–3 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Marathon Awards Ceremony
1 p.m., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
• Winter Canoeing Skills Class
1:30 p.m., Lake Springfield