Baltimore County Department of Aging schedules 5K fundraiser and pickleball events for older adults

Ethel Rasmussen, host of the Baltimore County Department of Aging television program Time of Your Life, announced the agency’s 19th annual Get Ready, Get Set, Get Fit 5K run and 1-mile walk will be held Sunday, Sept. 21, starting at 8 a.m. at the Community College of Baltimore County’s Essex campus; participants are asked to arrive by 7:30 a.m. before the course closes.

Kathleen Young, Bridal Senior Center regional manager for the Baltimore County Department of Aging, said proceeds from the event primarily support the department’s senior-friendly fitness centers and fitness classes at centers that do not yet have fitness rooms. "Most of the funding is used to support our state-of-the-art senior-friendly fitness centers," Young said. She added that BCDA now operates 15 fitness centers, with Woodlawn Senior Center the most recent addition.

Young described event logistics and incentives: a raffle of $500 in gift cards donated by Van Dyke and Bacon Shoes, technical long-sleeve moisture-wicking shirts for the first 1,000 registrants, and on-site refreshments including coffee, tea and snacks. Sponsors returning this year include Whiting-Turner, Johns Hopkins Health Plan, Comcast, CCBC and Rager Medical Advisor; new sponsors listed were Oakwood Care Center, Concierge Home Care of Maryland, and Mid Atlantic Medical Supply and Equipment.

Registration is available in person at any of Baltimore County’s 20 senior centers, by mail with a paper form, or online; Young said day-of registration will be accepted and an early-bird discount of $5 applies to registrations received by Aug. 22. "We also accept day of registrations," Young said. "And new this year, we are offering an early bird special registration where you can save $5 if you register by August 22." After Aug. 22, she said, the price increases by $5.

Rasmussen and Young also promoted the department’s Pickleball Palooza, a series of local tournaments in August and September that will feed a championship tournament at the county’s Power of Age Expo on Wednesday, Oct. 29. Young said local events will be hosted at facilities including Dill Dinkers in Cockeysville, Bounce Pikesville and Dill Dinkers in White Marsh; each local event will run three days with age-grouped competition and round-robin play. She said registrants are limited to 16 teams per age group at each location, divided into two round-robin brackets, and the top two teams advance to the championship.

Young said the run/walk is intergenerational and intended to encourage fitness among older adults while offering a family-friendly experience. Rasmussen noted the Time of Your Life Digest newspaper has about 8,000 subscribers; subscription information and BCDA program details are available by phone at (410) 887-3050.

The segment was informational: no formal decisions, votes, or policy changes were announced during the broadcast. For more details or to register, Young directed viewers to the event website and to stop by a senior center for a paper registration form.