By Jennifer Moody
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Sunday, June 29, 2008 12:00 am
Sweet Home physician's event raises thousands
LEBANON - For the past three years, Dr. Tim Hindmarsh has set himself to accomplish 10 activities in 24 hours to raise money for diabetes education.
This year, the Sweet Home physician's most challenging event was bringing people out to join him.
Temperatures hovering near 100 degrees kept some people from joining Hindmarsh's first "Act Alive" fun fair, held Saturday at Pioneer School in Lebanon. However, 19 hardy cyclists did participate in the 14-mile ride from Sweet Home to Lebanon; 27 tagged along for the 5K run and another 30-plus participated in the 5K walk.
In between, more than 100 spectators cheered as Hindmarsh and three friends parachuted into an open field adjacent to the school.
Quipped fellow physician Bill Origer of Albany, one of cyclists: "It's hard to keep up with Tim."
Hindmarsh, now 43, created the "Act Alive" decathlon in 2005 to mark his 40th birthday. He spent that day skiing, snowboarding, cycling, running, windsurfing, skydiving and doing three kinds of waterskiing before wrapping up with a dirt bike ride across the Florence dunes.
In the process, he raised about $6,000 for the diabetes fund of the Lebanon Community Hospital Foundation, which provides scholarships to low-income east Linn residents who need diabetes education classes.
Last year, Hindmarsh invited people to join him as he completed the cycling and running events of his decathlon. This year, he added a full-fledged public awareness fair, complete with vendors with information about healthy activities, performances by the marimba band Ancient Ways and inflated toys for kids to jump on.
"Really, the focus of the event now is community participation," Hindmarsh said. "The first time, the big thing was, can I actually do it? Now it's not so much me doing sports as an attention-grabber, it's, 'If I can do this at 43, maybe you can change your lifestyle a little bit.'"
Matt Armstrong of Lebanon is one of his converts. A Type 2 diabetic, he went through the diabetes classes and wants to help others do the same. He keeps active and joined Hindmarsh's cycling event to kick things up a notch.
"I figured I'd try the bike first," he said. "Then I'll try the running and the skiing."
Tim Poole of Albany said he joined the ride as part of his effort to stay out of Armstrong's shoes.
"I have a family history of diabetes, and for me, weight control is very important," Poole said.
"I want to do everything I can not to end up like my father and my grandfather. And to set a good example."
This year's event has raised $8,000 so far for the diabetes scholarships. Hindmarsh said he's next hoping to crack the $10,000 mark.
People can contribute by calling 541-451-7161 for information, or see www.samhealth.org/hospital_foundations/lch/actalive.html.
"We're up to 24 million diabetics in the U.S. - three million more than when I first started," Hindmarsh said. "We really need to do something as a culture about how we eat and how we move."