Markell to serve Delaware – this time from his bike

Former Gov. Jack Markell is not interested in a quiet retirement.

Barely four months after ending his term, Markell will embark on a cross-country cycling trip and again serve the people of Delaware. His goal is to encourage Delawareans to think more about their personal health and the well-being of their community, he said during the official announcement of his trip at the Christiana Hilton on Wednesday.

Markell, who has been referred to as “America’s most bicycle-friendly governor” by Bike Delaware, will do this by working with Motivate the First State, a public-private partnership that has been operating in the state for the past 22 months.

When people exercise — or engage in any “well-being activity,” such as drinking five glasses of water in a day or applying sunscreen — they can then log that information into an online platform, known as “Motivate the First State, powered by Plus3.” After individuals input their activities through their smartphones, or automatically through Fitbit or Garmin devices, they receive points, or “kudos,” based on what they log.

These kudos then translate to dollars donated to seven area nonprofits: the YMCA of Delaware, Special Olympics Delaware, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware, Young Life Delaware, Fellowship of Christian Athletes Delaware and Siegel Jewish Community Center.

Jason Danner, the campaign director of Motivate the First State, said that since the online platform was launched, it has converted nearly 250,000 activities, which include 8 million minutes of timed activities, to $70,000 in donations for the seven charities involved.

“It’s such a great organization,” Mark Wise, the director of sports training at Special Olympics Delaware, said of Motivate the First State. “All the money that comes to Special Olympics is so appreciated. Everything you can do to help our athletes day-to-day is so appreciated.”

Markell hopes his bicycle trip across the country — he’ll begin in Oregon with his wheels in the Pacific Ocean and end at Rehoboth Beach — will inspire others to become more active, and share that activity with Motivate the First State.

“With the opportunity to take care of yourself, and to benefit these Delaware kids and organizations, it’s really a win-win,” Markell said.

The campaign will also run a “Training with Jack Challenge,” presented by Christiana Care Health System, where individuals who reach the same number of “kudos” as Markell — or surpass him — will be eligible to win prizes like an Xbox or Fitbit, Danner said. This is to foster “a bit of a competitive spirit” for participants, in addition to knowing they are supporting Delaware charities, he said.

Although Markell is an avid cyclist, he acknowledged that parts of his 3,680-mile ride will be “a grind.” Over the course of his 50-day journey, which will begin June 18 and end sometime in early August, he plans to average at least 80 miles a day. He’s spent the last few months training with his coach, Deborah Leedale-Brown (who, according to the former governor, has “a backbone of steel”) and believes that, with her help, he will be ready come June.

For most of his trip, Markell will ride with an outside company that plans cross-country bicycle rides. But while the rest of his group ends up in New Hampshire, the former governor will meet up with a number of Delaware bikers near Niagara Falls (in addition to state Sen. David Sokola, who will join Markell in South Dakota) and finish his journey in Rehoboth Beach.

“It’s not ‘Motivate the Granite State,’ it’s Motivate the First State,” Markell said. “I’ve got to end in Delaware.”