2nd Annual Brooksville GET HEALTHY Cycling Classic:

Something for Everyone!

BROOKSVILLE, FL – October 2011 – The second annual Brooksville GET HEALTHY Cycling Classic will be held Saturday Oct 15 and Sunday October 16, celebrating health, wellness, and fitness for the entire family. This festival style event provides a unique opportunity for spectators to watch a wide range of bike racing from beginners to pros, while the whole family enjoys a fun-filled community sponsored weekend. And best of all, profits are donated to three local charities: Humane Society of Hernando County, The Arc Nature-Coast, and Operation HeartFELT.

This exciting event has something for everyone: competitive cyclists, enthusiasts, family and friends! Pro-cycling events include the exciting Cobblestone Criterium and a road race on the challenging hills of Hernando. In addition, GET HEALTHY has created a women-friendly race complete with special rewards sponsored by getZEN Healing Center, Emerita, and American Classic. More casual riders can participate in an Bob’s Red Mill Open Fundraising Ride, Liberty Street Kid’s Classic Race (sponsored by Nature’s Path and ABC Child Development Center), and the Tree of Life Fire Rescue/Police Hero Thank You Rally.

The excitement will kick into high gear for everyone in the GET HEALTHY ZONE where attendees can enjoy delicacies from Chef Audrey’s Fresh Market Fresh Café, learn about alternative holistic health practices, and visit our vendor partners supporting energy, endurance, weight-loss, and wellness. There will be a lot of valuable product information, free samples, prizes, coupons and more!  To top it off on Saturday October 15^th, the Brooksville Business Alliance will be holding their Market on Main, which includes arts & crafts, a car show and live music; and the Fall Art n’ Market Walk co-sponsored by the Brooksville City Hall Art Gallery.

Laura DeWitt, M.A. (co-owner of GET HEALTHY: Brooksville, Inverness, Spring Hill Natural Foods, and Inverness opening soon) helped to spearhead the event right from the beginning. As a seven-time All-American USA Triathlon and six-time Ironman finisher, she had participated in many racing events and knew she wanted this to be much more community focused and dynamic than what she’d seen. She writes about the intensive planning in her column on the GET HEALTHY website. Details range from choosing the best route for the criterium to making sure the portolets stayed fresh smelling, but it was the community’s willingness to get involved that made the biggest impact on her.

“The really neat thing was how excited all the members of the various City groups were to get behind this project. They all welcomed the chance to work together with us on a real community event, which would showcase the small town of Brooksville. They really wanted stuff to happen downtown, even if they had never seen a bike race before, it was a win-win.”

After a successful inaugural event last year with a tremendous attendance that raised thousands of dollars for three local charities, Laura says they are back with a vengeance for 2011 with a focus on women’s racing and an opening event that invites all amateur cyclists to come and ride the crit course and raise money for local charities. “Race with the best on the best course, knowing that we have all worked together to make it happen.” Says Laura. “Come with your family and enjoy our wonderful City of Brooksville.”

GET HEALTHY, a chain of vitamins & natural food stores including Brooksville Natural Foods, Inverness Natural Foods, and Spring Hill Natural Foods (plus a 4th location opening soon) is presenting this festival style event along with partnering sponsors including the City of Brooksville, the St. Petersburg Times, the Brooksville Business Alliance, Acupuncture Plus Massage, getZEN Healthy Center, FloridaVelo, FloridaCycling.com, natural product representatives, community businesses and local organizations. This project is made possible through funding provided by the Hernando County Tourist Development Council.

Register for the races online through Floridacycling.com (closes at midnight on Thursday, Oct 13), or by mail by sending your entry (USAC’s Athlete Release Form with Payment) to Topview Sports, LLC., 413 South Alderwood Street, Winter Springs, FL 32708.  You can also register onsite the day of the event.

For more information, visit GET HEALTHY's website at www.getingethealthy.com, call GET HEALTHY: Brooksville Natural Foods at (352) 796-9798, or email brooksvillecyclingclassic@gmail.com

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