Medical professionals all over the country are encouraging everyone to stay at home and practice social distancing, and Magic Valley nurse Trevor Churchman is talking the talk, and walking the walk--or maybe we should say "running the run."
Churchman loves moving his feet.
"I run every day. I've actually been on a streak, a little over five years," Churchman said.
As a registered nurse on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus, he knows how important it is to prevent the spread. That's why he wanted to take both his running routine and his coronavirus prevention a step further. He decided to run a half-marathon in his backyard.
"I went into our backyard and did like 215 laps," Churchman said. "It took two hours and three minutes and some change. A little slower than my usual but making 800 left turns kind of slows you down a bit."
For Churchman, running has been his outlet--especially during the stress of fighting COVID-19.
"Running is really therapeutic," Churchman said. "It kinda helps burn off a lot of the stress from work or if you bring stuff home with you, running kinda helps alleviate some of that stress."
Churchman was already practicing social distancing and taking extra precautions when he would go out to run, but he felt taking the extra step and staying in his back yard was important.
"I tell my patients about social distancing and self-quarantine, and it felt a little hypocritical to tell people all night 'you need to stay home as much as possible and limit your exposure' and then I go out and run," Churchman said.
With gyms closed because of coronavirus concerns, many of us are experimenting with new ways to stay active, but finding what works for you is important for both mental and physical health, Churchman says.
"The biggest thing I get from it is there's so much we can't control with everything going on, that if you choose to go out in your backyard or if you run around the block or if you choose to go 30 miles, you get control over something. You get to control how much exercise you get and how healthy you can be," Churchman said. "Keep social distancing. Take good care of yourselves and find something--even if it's not running. It's different for everybody, but find something that will help you get better and stay better."
