Weight-loss seekers pound the pavement

La Crescenta resident Cara DiMaggio and her friend, Diana Herrera, made a mad dash Sunday morning through downtown Glendal in preparation for the city’s five-mile run-and-walk event in March.

The pair have never participated in a long-distance run before, but they said they are committed to follow through with their New Year’s resolution to live healthier and lose weight in 2010.

“I wanted to get my butt off the couch and do something,” DiMaggio said.

Herrera lost weight last year but gained it back during the holidays.

Participating in the third annual five-mile Glendale Downtown Dash will jump-start Herrera’s recommitment to weight loss, she said.

Nearly 70 runners and walkers joined them for a light jog around the downtown district.

The jog kicked off an eight-week training program designed to shape up event participants before the dash on March 14.

The Glendale Downtown Merchants Assn. will host the dash, which raises money for the Glendale Adventist Medical Center’s stroke services. The event has raised nearly $100,000 for the hospital’s stroke services.

That reason drew Glendale resident Vivian Creet to participate in the dash two years in a row.

“It is for a good cause,” she said.

Creet also wants lead a healthier lifestyle, so taking part in the dash was an easy fit.

The dash starts at 8 a.m. in front of the Alex Theatre and goes through the Americana at Brand.

And for the next three months, participants will gather at 8 a.m. every Sunday, warm up and stretch, then walk or run at a moderate pace.

The program will start off with short distance and gradually increase.

All About You Wellness Boot Camp coordinates the workouts, which aim to train participants and help them lose weight, boot camp co-owner Elaine Miller said.

Participants were also asked to take part in the “Lose a Ton in ’10” community weigh loss challenge.

The challenge urges Glendale residents to set weight-loss goals and pledge money for each pound lost.

The funds raised will benefit Glendale Healthy Kids, a nonprofit organization that provides health-care services to uninsured children.

And the hospital will donate $1 — up to $2,000 — for every pound lost by residents.

Pasadena resident Phyllis Cremer will participate in the dash and challenge, for which she pledged $3 for every pound lost. She is hoping to lose 18 pounds.

Cremer just turned 50, and is hoping to improve her health for the next 50 years, she said.