For the first time, the action-filled gathering, which originally started as an annual fun run, will include the Bay Area Senior Games -- a multi-sport extravaganza that will offer softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, and track and field. In addition, Fifty-Plus will build upon its traditional Weekend fitness activities: the 8-Kilometer road run, 5-Kilometer fitness walk, and competitive race walk.

The Weekend's signature event, the Paul Spangler Memorial 8K Run, once again hosts the Pacific Association/USA Track & Field 8K Championship. The race, which draws the top senior runners in the country, has produced multiple U.S. age-group records.

"The debut of the Bay Area Senior Games, and return of the 8K championship for our Weekend, demonstrates the Fifty-Plus commitment to promote active aging for senior adults," said Anne Cribbs, Managing Director of Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness. "But the positive message associated with a physically active lifestyle is critical for all ages. So, we're planning our best-ever Weekend with something for everybody and every body."

For example, the 5K (3.1-Mile) Fitness Walk offers a target goal that many people can shoot for and comfortably attain-with proper preparation. Fifty-Plus organizes walking groups, fitness camps, and other physical activities to prepare senior adults for these endeavors.

The Bay Area Senior Games will take place each year through 2009 under the auspices of the California Senior Games Association (CSGA), an affiliate of the National Senior Games Association (NSGA). The 2009 Bay Area Senior Games will preface the 2009 Summer National Senior Games -- the Senior Olympics -- to be held in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Summer National Senior Games is the largest multi-sport event in the world for senior athletes with 18 sports, 15,000 athletes, plus three demonstration sports in 2009. Over 35,000 visitors are expected for the 15-days of competition.
In November, 2004, the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) successfully won a bid over 10 other U.S. cities, earning the right to host the 2009 Summer National Senior Games. Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness and Stanford University will play integral roles in producing the national event.

"The San Francisco Bay Area and California's affinity for active, healthy lifestyles makes this partnership uniquely suited to bring NSGA's mission and programs to the hundreds of thousands of seniors that reside in the state," said Bill Bankhead, CEO of the NSGA.

The 2006 edition of the Fifty-Plus Weekend will also include its popular, traditional activities: The Fifty-Plus Health Conference, Annual Fifty-Plus Awards Dinner, which includes the presentation of the Emil Zatopek Award, and the Fifty-Plus Health Fair.
Olympic figure skating gold medalist Peggy Fleming, and former football star Ronnie Lott, will take part in the Weekend as special guests. Dr. Walter Bortz, Chairman of Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness, will deliver the keynote speech at a reception on Friday night, March 10, 2006, kicking off the Weekend with insights from his best-selling new book, Diabetes Danger.
Certainly, the many inspiring senior athletes who will participate in the 2006 Fifty-Plus Fitness Weekend are examples for others to embrace.

Harold "Hutch" Thurston, 87, of Los Altos, Calif. is a regular participant in the Weekend's 8K Run. He started running in his thirties as an airline pilot when he found that runs after long international flights helped him adjust to jet lag. Today, Thurston's pacemaker implant doesn't prevent him from getting out for three-mile runs, four days each week. "A good horse can walk as fast as I run now," said Thurston, "but I still enjoy it."

Elizabeth Baker, 80, of Morro Bay, Calif. is especially looking forward to this year's 8K run since she enters a new five-year age group. In this year's race, she hopes to successfully defend her title as the oldest female finisher. Baker has competed in international track and field events for masters all over the world, and has finished the Big Sur International Marathon eight times, plus ran in the 100th running of the Boston Marathon. "I'm not fast, but I get there," she admitted.

Joyce Hanna, 71, of Atherton, Calif. sits on the Fifty-Plus Board of Directors, and is Associate Director of the Health and Fitness Program at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention.

Deeply involved in seniors' health issues in both her profession and leisure activities, Hanna returns to this year's event with only one goal in mind: "I hope to place in the top three in my age group," said Hanna. "I'm feeling really good right now." Hanna states that running the 8K race is "simply an expression of the exercise that I do throughout the year" which includes hiking, weight training, and yoga. Among other accomplishments, she has topped her age group in the exhausting Pikes Peak Marathon and has competed in the Boston Marathon.

EVENT ENTRY: A registration form for all of the Fifty-Plus events can be obtained by contacting the Fifty-Plus Hot Line: (650) 843-1752, E-mail: info@50plus.org. Online race registration is available at www.active.com. Further information is available on the Fifty-Plus Web site at www.50plus.org.

Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness is a non-profit, international organization based in Palo Alto, Calif., with 2,000 members, whose mission is to provide a longer and more independent lifestyle for adults by expanding awareness and involvement in health and fitness activities.

Thanks to our major sponsors, who help make the Fifty-Plus Fitness Weekend possible: City of Palo Alto Recreation, Classic Residences by Hyatt in Palo Alto, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and Palo Alto Weekly.

MEDIA NOTE: For media credentials, further information, or interviews, contact Mark Winitz, Win-It!z Sports Public Relations, Tel: 650-948-0618, Fax: 650-949-2172, E-mail: winitz@earthlink.net.

* Study released January, 2006 by NPD Group, New York, NY