Birkie Participants: make sure to check your inbox for a link to the survey.
Thanks for your willingness to take the 2015 Birkie Health Survey and congratulations on your plans to ski one of the races at the American Birkebeiner! If you are not skiing this year, congrats on being a past Birkie finisher! Skiing the Birkie is a super tough physical challenge and a really great personal accomplishment.
With over 20,000 past participants and 10,500 skiers this year, the Birkie is the largest citizen ski race in North America and training for the race demonstrates your tremendous commitment to staying active. Some of you may know that one of my great passions in life is helping people of all ages to develop and maintain a physically active lifestyle. Physical inactivity is one of the greatest public health challenges we face and it contributes to health conditions like heart disease, overweight and obesity, osteoporosis, and a host of other problems that are all preventable.
Lately, I’ve been talking with some researchers at the Mayo Clinic who believe that if you are participating in races like the Birkie, you are someone who has succeeded in making physical activity an integrated part of your life. So we want to ask you some questions about how you did it and who helped you! While they’re at it, they will also ask a few questions about your general health practices to see how Birkie participants compare to the general population. I can’t wait to see the results! The survey is completely voluntary and your answers are strictly confidential. If you have technical problems or questions about the survey please contact the Mayo Clinic survey research center (surveyresearchcenter@mayo.edu).
Good luck at the Birkie, 2015!
Posted October 29, 2014 at 12:57 pm
