January 30, 2025
West Columbia, S.C. – The Lexington Medical Center Heart & Sole Women’s Five Miler Race is re-starting after a five-year pause. Happening on Saturday, May 17, this women-only event features a five-mile run/walk and a three-mile fitness walk that begins and ends at Gills Creek Memorial Park in the City of Forest Acres.
The race continues its focus on celebrating women and the power of a healthy lifestyle, with a post-event outdoor health and wellness expo at the park. The expo will spotlight women’s health and feature Lexington Medical Center health professionals and physician practices, as well as other community organizations. Participants can take part in blood pressure screenings, enjoy refreshments and free massages, and get information on nutrition, women’s health and exercise.
“We’re proud to bring back the Heart & Sole Women’s Five Miler to our communities,” said Tod Augsburger, president and chief executive officer of Lexington Medical Center. “This event is beloved by women throughout the Midlands and allows us to continue highlighting women’s health and how we can help them live longer, healthier lives.”
For the first time, the event will be held at Gills Creek Memorial Park in Forest Acres.
“The City of Forest Acres is proud to host the much-anticipated return of Lexington Medical’s Heart and Sole Women’s Five Miler. Lexington Medical has consistently shown its commitment to our community, from sponsoring events such as our Sweet Seasons Christmas Tree Lighting to the Picnic in the Park Concert Series,” says Forest Acres Mayor Thomas Andrews. "Our community is stronger and better with Lexington Medical here in our city, and we’re proud to partner with them once again—this time to host this inspiring race for women from across the Midlands. Events like this at Gills Creek Memorial Park captures the vision we had when we created this dynamic space for our community."
The five-mile course starts at Forest Lake Place near the park and continues through the streets of Forest Acres, following Spring Lake Drive to Eastshore Road, turning on Lakeshore Drive to the downhill finish. Women can also choose to participate in an untimed three-mile fitness walk.
Dawndy Mercer Plank, local fitness advocate and former WIS 10 news anchor, will host the post-awards celebration and awards ceremony at the park. All finishers receive commemorative medals, with cash prizes given to the top race finishers and awards given in five-year age categories. A special $200 cash award will be presented for a new course record.
Launched by the Carolina Marathon Association in 2002, the Lexington Medical Center Heart & Sole Women’s Five Miler is South Carolina’s first women-only road race. It has grown from fewer than 400 female participants in its first year to more than 1,300 in 2019. The race offers women of all athletic abilities the opportunity to participate in a comforting, supportive environment. Elite athletes, as well as first-timers, enjoy the unique event.
To receive more information or to register, visit HeartAndSoleRun.com. You can also learn more on Facebook.
Lexington Medical Center is a 607-bed teaching hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina. It anchors a health care network that includes five community medical centers and employs a staff of more than 8,000 health care professionals. The hospital is ranked best hospital in the Columbia Metro and #2 hospital in South Carolina by U.S. News & World Report and was named one of the “Best Places to Work in South Carolina” by SC Biz News, in partnership with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Best Companies Group. Lexington Medical Cancer Center is an accredited Cancer Center of Excellence and has a clinical research and education affiliation with MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. The network includes a cardiovascular program recognized by the American College of Cardiology as South Carolina's first HeartCARE Center. The network also has an occupational health center, the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas, an Alzheimer's care center and more than 70 physician practices. Lexington Medical Center operates one of the busiest Emergency departments in South Carolina, treating nearly 100,000 patients each year. The hospital delivers more than 4,000 babies each year and performs more than 25,000 surgeries. Its postgraduate medical education programs include family medicine and transitional year residencies.
