Crystal Wise
Believing a community is fully whole only when it is healthy in body, mind, and spirit, Betsy Price brought to the office of mayor of Fort Worth a vow to be an exemplar of living well through healthy choices and an active lifestyle in exercise.
It was more important than many perhaps realized.
“Community health is so critical,” Price says recently. “This isn’t about people being thin. It’s about a healthier, fitter community. When kids are healthy, they’re more likely to be in school and be better students. When their parents are healthy, they’re in our workforce and at work every day and make sure their kids are out. It’s also a way for communities to get out and get engaged and talk to each other.”
No one else in America was doing rolling town hall meetings on bicycles or putting on a mayor’s triathlon. Price, 72, is proud of the policy adopted and the ethos advanced during her 10 years in office, among them the Blue Zones Project and FitWorth.
Since leaving office last year, her workout habits haven’t changed.
“I do something six days a week,” she says, including five days with her trainer, Tim Tarpley.
She is also an inductee of the YMCA Hall of Fame, merited by a life of fitness, including the “dubious distinction of being the person who has done the most Turkey Trots in Tarrant County.”
That’s 40 for 41. If those aren’t hall-of-fame numbers, then there aren’t any.
The Cowtown Marathon is an annual must-do, as well. She does the 10K, half, or marathon relay each year. On her calendar this fall is the Keller Monster Tri, a triathlon sprint comprising of a 300-meter swim, a 12.8-mile bike ride, and a 3.1-mile run.
And though the popular Mayor’s Tri is a thing of the past, Price says she is planning to breathe new life into a reincarnated sprint tri. She’s not exactly sure what that will look like yet, but “I think we’ll get that done.”
What Betsy Price’s Workout Week Looks Like Price works out with trainer Tim Tarpley five times a week. “Even when she was mayor, I saw her five times a week,” Tarpley says. “What we do each week varies, depending on times and schedules. It’s really funny. If she’s forced to take a rest day because the schedules don’t align or she’s tired, it really bothers her. Resting is not in her wheelhouse in any way, shape, or form.”
This is what she did the week we talked to her.
Monday Weights. “The studies show the older you get, you need to lift more weights for muscle mass and bone structure.”
Tuesday Cycling. Six hill repeats. That is, ride up a hill, return to the base, and ride back up the hill. Repeat. “They were a real booger,” she says laughing. However, that’s her preference. “I can hardly stand the trainer [a device that makes you bike stationary]. I’d rather be outside, unless it’s real cold or wet, and I absolutely need to ride.”
Wednesday Another workout with weights. A swim was planned, but her schedule didn’t allow. “I’m not a big swimmer, but I force myself to do it once or twice a week.”
Thursday and Friday More aerobic activity, walking or running, most likely. However, “I’ve pretty much gone to walking. I still run a little. And it’s very slow.”