Coca Cola Live Positively: W & OD Trail Is MY Park

I’m very excited to tell you about the America Is Your Park Campaign from Coca Cola Live Positively.

A little about the Campaign:

• Coca-Cola wants American to Live Positively. Parks are where many of us come together to be active. The American Is Your Park Campaign helps us to celebrate these places by bringing us together to vote for our favorites so they can win up to $100,000.
• The America Is Your Park campaign was developed in collaboration with the National Park Foundation, America’s State Parks and the National Recreation and Park Association.
• Any park in the US can win. You nominate a park or vote for one that has already been nominated.
• You can vote online for 1 vote or check in with foursquare and receive 100 votes for your park.
• Coca-Cola will present the winning park with an $100,000 recreation grant! Second and third place parks will receive $50,000 and $25,000, respectively, and one lucky random park will win $15,000!

I VOTED for the W & OD Trail and here is why! My blog is named after the mile posts on the W & OD Trail. The W & OD Trail which is considered the SKINNIEST Park in Virginia, is a rails to trails park. It is 45 miles long and runs from Shirlington to Purceville and includes 32 miles of adjacent gravel trail. There are not many runners in Northern Virginia that do not know about the W & OD Trail. Most would probably agree that it is a great place to run, walk, bike or ride a horse. This trail is where I did almost all of my training runs when I first started running. It holds a very special place in my heart. On this paved path I found myself and became a runner. Even though I no longer live around the corner from it – I often drive there with my kids to go on stroller runs. My longest stroller run of 20 miles was done on this trail.

As I sit here – I am smiling – remembering many great runs. Runs with friends. Runs with my kids. Runs with my dogs [yes my tiny little dogs used to run with me]. Runs with groups. Runs alone. Runs with my boyfriend who would one day become my husband. Runs with a single stroller. Runs with a double stroller. Tempo runs. Fartlek runs. Long runs and short runs. Runs that turned into walks. Walks that turned into runs. This park represents so much of who I am and who I have become. It is a part of me. Do you have a park like this? A place where you became a runner?

If you want to be a part of this campaign it’s EASY. Visit this link to vote – http://cokeurl.com/parksblogher

You can pick any park in America. Using the online search tool to find your park is simple. If you don’t find your park listed you can submit it to be added. It takes 7 or less days for them to verify the park and add it to the list for voting. Coca-Cola provides tools for you to help spread the word about the campaign and raly your community to VOTE for your favorite park.

How To Get Involved: Starting a grassroots movement around your favorite park is simple! Just a few small actions can make a big difference in helping your park win the “America’s Favorite Park” title. You can organize events in the park, encourage family and friends to vote. Even a simple post on facebook or twitter can help spread the word! Materials to help you campaign for your favorite park can be found on LivePositively.com/parks, including:

• Sample Facebook and Twitter posts
• Tips for hosting voting events in your local park
• Customizable flyer for rallying your community behind the park

About Coca-Cola live positively:

• For more than 125 years, Coca-Cola has been committed to making a positive difference in the communities we serve. Supporting meaningful organizations and programs like America Is Your Park is part of our “Live Positively” philosophy. Visit LivePositively.com to learn more.

What is your favorite park? What do you think of this Campaign from Coca-Cola? If you don’t have a park near you that you like or love – consider voting for the W & OD Trail!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Only legal residents of the 50 U.S. (and D.C.) who are at least 13 years old and reside within the U.S. at the time of participation are eligible to vote for a Park. Participate on behalf of a Park by: July 15, 2012. The 3 most popular Parks will be offered a grant and there will be 1 Wild Card drawing at the end of the Contest to award an additional grant. To participate, for Official Rules, and complete details including grant descriptions, visit www.LivePositively.com/parks. Void where prohibited.