<strong>By Marie McAden</strong>

To help participants gear up for the big three-day, 30-mile LoCo Motion walking and running event this fall in the Lowcountry, health and fitness experts from Beaufort Memorial Hospital and Palmetto Running Company are presenting a clinic on hydration, nutrition and footwear.<!--more-->

The free one-hour prep session will be offered at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 28 at the Keyserling Cancer Center and again at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18 at Palmetto Running Company in Bluffton.

“Ten miles is a long haul,” said Roxanne Davis-Cote, clinical nutrition manager for Beaufort Memorial’s Hospital, and one of the presenters at the clinic. “It’s important to go into this event well-nourished.”

Clinic attendees will have a chance to taste a variety of performance energy products, including Clif Shot Bloks and Gels and Gu. Davis-Cote also will discuss what walkers and runners should be eating the week leading up to the event.

Tim Waz, owner of Palmetto Running Company, will address footwear issues and advise participants on how to properly hydrate during the race. Typically, runners should drink four to eight ounces of water per mile.

“If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated,” he said.

LoCo Motion is the newest fundraiser for Carolina Cups, a Lowcountry non-profit organization supporting breast cancer education, screening, treatment and clinical research. More than 2,000 people are expected to participate in the Sept. 30-Oct. 2 event, trekking 10 miles a day through Old Town Bluffton and the beaches of Hilton Head Island.

Beaufort Memorial, LoCo Motion’s lead sponsor, is also offering weekly training sessions at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 7:30 a.m. Saturdays in the LifeFit Wellness Center. You don’t have to be registered for the event to participate in the free sessions.

Palmetto Running Company is leading similar sessions in Bluffton at 6 p.m. Tuesdays and 7 a.m. Saturdays. Sessions also are being held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Hilton Head Hospital and 7:30 a.m. Saturdays at Coligny Beach in Hilton Head Island.

Proceeds from LoCo Motion will benefit several regional cancer organizations, including Beaufort Memorial’s Keyserling Cancer Center, Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Care, the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, the Breast Cancer Program at Atlanta’s Northside Hospital and the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

For more information on Carolina Cups and the LoCo Motion event, visit www.carolinacups.org or call 843-868-1888.