‘Get Your Tail on the Trail’ Starts 165-mile Challenge for 6th Year

Kick-off event to be held May 4 at Delaware & Lehigh Trail in Allentown.

The  “Get Your Tail on the Trail” program offered by St. Luke’s University Health Network and the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is off and running for its sixth year. The program challenges participants to log 165 miles of outdoor exercise such as walking, hiking, running, biking or paddling from May 1 to November 4.

A kickoff event will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Allentown Canal Park Trailhead along the D&L Trail headed toward Bethlehem. The address is 538 S. Albert Street in Allentown. After a short welcome presentation, participants can join St. Luke’s professionals and choose a bike ride (7.8 miles), run (3 miles), or walk (2 miles) along the D&L Trail.

What: “Get Your Tail on the Trail” six-year kick-off celebration

When: Saturday, May 4, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

Where: Allentown Canal Park Trailhead along the D&L Trail

The kick-off event is free, but participants are asked to register at https://go.activecalendar.com/sluhn/event/tail-on-the-trail-165-mile-challenge-kickoff/.

“Get Your Tail on the Trail” participants register for free as an individual or as part of an organization at tailonthetrail.org and log the miles that they walk, run, hike, bike or paddle, or any other continuous activity they participate in for 10 minutes or more. While the program doesn't require participants to exercise exclusively on the nearly continuous 165-mile D&L Trail, it is the centerpiece of the program. The trail stretches from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, Pennsylvania.

In addition to the 165-Mile Challenge that runs each May to November, there are special events throughout the year, including bike and hike outings, health fairs, history walks and more.

Since the program was launched in 2013, more than 6,000 participants have logged more than 3 million miles. Those who complete the challenge receive a reward. Past rewards have included T-shirts, backpacks and rain capes.

Goal is to encourage healthy lifestyles

“Our goal is real simple: To get people outside and get them active,” said Todd Nemura, St. Luke’s Healthy Living Program Coordinator. “We want people to be physically active because it is one of the best ways to prevent chronic disease. There’s a good deal of data that show that if you exercise 150 minutes a week, you’re going to have better health outcomes overall.”

Nemura said the program is purposefully simple. “If fitness is complicated, people won’t do it,” he said. “We make it simple because we want to eliminate the barriers.” 

One of the reasons St. Luke’s partnered with D&L is that exercising outdoors has proven to be healthier than exercising indoors, Nemura said.

“Whether it's the sunshine, fresh air, varied terrain, or social connectedness because you are more likely to be in a group, the benefits of outdoor exercise are backed by research,” he said. “And we have this fantastic resource right in our backyard – the D&L Trail – so all of our events and promotions of the program, also promote the trail.”

For more information about the “Get Your Tail on the Trail” program, visit tailonthetrail.org or call the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor at 610-923-3548 ext. 221. For more information about the kickoff, call Kathy Ramson, DNP, RN, CCRN,  Network Director Healthy Living and Chronic Disease, at 484-526-2301or email her at Kathy.Ramson@sluhn.org.

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and over 320 outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 28 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 226 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system with Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  In 2019, three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals were St. Luke’s hospitals.  St. Luke’s University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health seven times total and five years in a row. St. Luke’s has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.