SUN Fun Run. . .

“Last summer we got people interested in doing it, and this year we wanted to get people exercising a few months before the race,” Van Andel said.
El Centro also wanted to incorporate the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing into the competition, Abouda said.
“We calculated how many minutes it would take to fly to Beijing,” Abouda said. “We came up with 1,400 minutes.”
The first 20 employees who reach 1,400 minutes of training will have their registrations for the Fun Run paid by El Centro, Abouda said. So far, 11 employees have logged the requisite minutes.
“It’s been shown that logging helps a lot in realizing a healthy lifestyle change,” Abouda said. “The whole clinic can see how they’ve been doing.”
El Centro provides primary care throughout Northern New Mexico, and then follows up on the recommendations of its physicians.
“Just being told to exercise doesn’t translate into exercise,” Abouda said. “We help people overcome the barriers to exercising. We have care teams to educate them in eating right.”
Abouda was raised in Lyden and has been with El Centro for three years.
“It’s great to be back in the Valley,” she said.