Jason and Molly Mesnick. Photo from Brooks Running.

Fans of ABC’s “The Bachelor” will recognize Molly Mesnick, who won the heart of bachelor Jason Mesnick during season 13 of the show. Seattle Area Get Your Rear in Gear event chair  and social media representative for Brooks Running, Keely O’Neill, recently shared with us that Molly will be running the Seattle GYRIG as part of a training run for the Las Vegas Rock ‘N Roll Half-Marathon. Molly plans to run the half-marathon with her husband, Jason, on December 4th.

Molly and Jason are training  for the half-marathon with Brooks Running. Molly shared some of her training tips and tricks through a Q & A on the Brooks Running Blog. Her advise for others training for a race?

“Whether your training hurdle has to do with time, an injury, or anything else, I think it’s important to do what works best for YOU! Many times people get too encumbered by following a strict training schedule that becomes impossible and overwhelming. Sometimes you need to compromise and re-prioritize. Follow a training plan that works for you and your body!”

Are you on Twitter? Considering following Molly through her training and race experiences, and here are others we recommend for info about the Seattle Area Get Your Rear in Gear:

• Molly Mesnick (@MollyMesnick)
• Keely O’Neill (@Keely_ONeilly)
• Brooks Running (@BrooksRunning)
• Get Your Rear in Gear (@GYRIG)

The River City, Iowa Walgreens was one of 30 regional stores encouraging their local community to get their rears in gear.

Neta Johnson, a River City Walgreens employee, and friend of Get Your Rear in Gear River City organizer, Bryan Fessler, decided that she wanted to get involved with the inaugural River City, Iowa, event in honor of her friend Ellen (Bryan’s wife). Ellen Fessler was a respected community member, a wife, mother and teacher, who passed away from colon cancer in September 2009.

Get Your Rear in Gear runners took over the River City Walgreens the month of July 2012.

“Ellen was a good friend, taught my children in school, and was well known in the community. I thought ‘We could do this whole donation thing,’ and I approached Walgreens about getting involved with fundraising. Walgreens was eager to get involved, especially because it goes along with our philosophy of ‘Live Well, Stay Well, Get Well,’” said Johnson.

The River City Walgreens, along with 29 other Walgreens stores in the district, helped to raise funds for the area by selling Get Your Rear in Gear runners, which could be purchased for $1 each.

During the month-long fundraiser that wrapped up on July 31, the 30 Walgreens locations and local community members banded together to raise over $3,000 for colon cancer awareness, education and screening programs in the River City, IA area.

The Fessler Family in 2007. Jenna (now 21), Ellen, Bryan and Jared (now 24).

Bryan Fessler brought Get Your Rear in Gear to River City in honor of his wife, Ellen. The race will take place on September 17, 2011. Funds raised at the event and through the Walgreens fundraiser will be used to partner with Trinity Regional Health System in Muscatine to provide financial assistance for screenings to those under and uninsured in Muscatine County.

For more information on the River City Get Your Rear in Gear, visit the event page.

To find a Walgreens in your area check out the store locator, or learn more about Walgreens’ community programs.

See more photos from the River City Walgreens store during the month-long promotion.

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The Coalition welcomed visitors with our own Get Your Rear in Gear shopping bags, as well as critical information on screening.  Adults were asked to test their knowledge with an intriguing Q&A game provided by our colleagues at the University of Minnesota.  And we got the kids involved with a “Save a Duck” game; choose a duck from the pond with a spot or “polyp” on them, and save their life.

It was a busy morning and we thank everyone who stopped by to talk with us.

The Colon Cancer Coalition at cancer center grand opening

Dr. Scott Goldstein Director Colon & Rectal Surgery and Dr. Edith Mitchell Clinical Professor, Department of Clinical Oncology, Jenny Ashbrook, Maria Grasso and Shona Bradley.

Tom J. Lewis, President & CEO of Jefferson University Hospital

Proceeds from Get Your Rear in Gear Philadelphia will support cutting edge research in colorectal cancer and compassionate care at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

The event committee is already working on next year’s event, scheduled for March 21, 2010. The Colon Cancer Coalition welcomes back sponsor Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and media partner NBC 10 for 2010.  Look for more information on the event on Get Your Rear in Gear.com shortly.

Crew of the SS Colon Cancer

To promote colon cancer awareness, the staff and physicians of Regions Hospital Department of Gastroenterology built a boat to compete in this year’s Minneapolis Aquatennial milk carton boat races, held July 19 at Lake Calhoun.  The S.S. Colon Cruiser actually did stay afloat, and won in the first heat of the race.

It took GI staff and other volunteers about a week to build the boat in the lobby of the HealthPartners Specialty Center 435, where patients and employees could monitor its progress. To ensure it would float, the boat required 258 empty milk jugs donated by employees from across the organization. This is the first time the gastroenterology department has participated in the milk carton boat races. We would love to do it again next year and race against other GI departments in the area. What better way to get the message out about screening.

The skipper and rowing crew of the S.S. Colon Cruiser (from left):Chris Shepela, MD; Jami Degnan; Sandeep Bahadur, MD; and Clay Ahrens.