The fourth IRONJAY Challenge has begun at Elizabethtown College. Students, faculty, staff, and now for the first time, alumni, are invited to participate in this annual self-monitored and self-paced fitness challenge.
“The IRONJAY is based on the IRONMAN, which is a triathlon that’s 140.6 miles,” Assistant Director of Health Promotions Amanda Cheetham said. IRONJAY participants can register for either the 70.3 mile HALF JAY or the 140.6 mile FULL JAY.
Cheetham stressed the fact that any type of physical activity can be counted towards IRONJAY miles. “It doesn’t have to be running,” she said. Participants can walk, run, swim or dance their way to achieving their personal challenge. “If you play Ultimate Frisbee then you can count that activity towards your IRONJAY challenge,” Cheetham said. She explained that the diverse activities that count towards IRONJAY miles encourage a goal that is “attainable for anybody.”
The IRONJAY is a unique fitness challenge because it “brings about the idea of working as a team, because we are all working towards this IRONJAY Challenge, but it’s also an individual challenge where you can go at your own pace,” Cheetham said. “It’s a good combination of an individual and a team challenge.”
In previous years, there has been high IRONJAY participation from both students and staff. “People really seem to like it right off the bat at the beginning of the semester to kind of get you into that routine,” Cheetham said. This year, based on the requests of alums, the IRONJAY has partnered with the Alumni Association to make the Challenge available for Etown graduates as well. Cheetham said that alumni who “completed the IRONJAY as a student will still be able to keep this fall challenge in their fitness regimen after they have graduated and moved onto their professional careers so that they can still have a piece of their IRONJAY pride to participate in.”
Students, staff, faculty and alumni can register for the IRONJAY Challenge at www.etown.edu/ironjay. Along with registration forms, the website includes activity tracking sheets and information about how to convert different activities into IRONJAY miles. “We are trying to make [the registration process] as simplified as possible and manageable for someone on campus or a commuter or an alum, faculty or staff,” Cheetham said.
As the IRONJAY becomes more recognizable on campus, Cheetham said that they are able to work with new offices and departments on campus to include “lots of new incentives.” This year, the IRONJAY Challenge is the result of collaboration between Student Wellness, the Employee Wellness Team, the Elizabethtown College Alumni Association, the Body Shop, the College Store, and the Blue Jay 5K Run. The several offices have teamed together to provide Official IRONJAY prizes which include Microfiber towels, magnets, a College Store coupon, and discounted registration for the Blue Jay 5K Run.
The IRONJAY Challenge started on August 24 and will run through November 20.
