Monday, February 25, 2019

State of the Heart Care 5K Set for April 6th at Eldora Speedway

Walking with a Purpose

Do you find yourself saying 5Ks aren’t for you? That you could never run or even walk that far? Instead of throwing in the towel before even giving it a try, you may want to find some inspiration from a man named Harry Fetter. We first became aware of Harry a few years ago when he attended the Heart and Sole 5K with Al Groth-a volunteer, current board member, and past board President for State of the Heart Care. Al assisted Harry in walking the entire course, and this has since become an annual tradition for the two of them. What makes this truly special is that Harry is completely blind, and has been most of his life. Yet he doesn’t let this stop him from enjoying some of his favorite hobbies, which include walking five miles near his home in Winchester every morning.

Al said he has known the Fetter family for years, since he and Harry are neighbors and Al farms some land Harry owns. Harry enjoys spending time on his farm. His visual impairment does not stop him from tackling any task that may come his way. When he was still farming his own land Harry would drive the tractor with some assistance from his mother. Harry has painted his own house, and even continues to shovel his own drive when it snows. Although currently his favorite thing to work on at home may just be his garden, which Al says, “is the best garden you will see in the county and has the straightest rows.” Harry uses strings in his garden with knots in them to help him know where to set up and plant the rows.

When asked what he’s gained from their tradition of walking in the Heart and Sole 5K Al stated he and Harry have become closer friends. And according to Al, Harry really enjoys the opportunity of getting out of the house and spending the morning and afternoon of the race socializing. Harry has been an inspiration to Al, and Al plans to continue helping Harry stay involved with our 5K. We would love to see you come out and run or walk alongside Harry and Al this year on April 6th, 2019 at State of the Heart’s 6th annual Heart and Sole 5K at Eldora Speedway. You can find a link to register at https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/NewWeston/HeartandSole5KOH. The Heart & Sole 5k is the second race in the Darke County Wellness Challenge. For information about the Challenge go to www.darkecountywellnesschallenge.com. For any business or individual interested in sponsoring the race, or for any race day questions, please contact Erica Wood, Race Director, at ewood@stateoftheheartcare.org or 937.548.2999.

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