Grand Canyon, Ariz. – This weekend, Darryl Haley, former New England Patriot, Ironman Triathlete, and world-renowned fitness trainer, will be joining Grand Canyon National Park’s Diversity Council in celebrating Black History Month and enjoying the Grand Canyon as a place to have fun, learn something, and get healthy at the same time.

On Friday, February 22, 2013, Haley will join an hour-long, ranger-led walk along the Rim Trail which will begin at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center (located on the South Rim) at 3 p.m. Then, on Monday, February 25, Haley will share his health and fitness expertise and his Grand Canyon experiences during an evening program at 7 p.m. at the Shrine of the Ages Auditorium.  Both programs are free of charge and are open to the public.

Through his experiences at Grand Canyon, Haley, a health and fitness enthusiast who hosts WHUR’s (Howard University Radio) Fitness Friday on the Steve Harvey Morning Show, hopes to show that parks are places diverse audiences can and should enjoy, and that there are a wide range of opportunities for people of varying fitness levels to experience and recreate in their national parks.

Black History Month is celebrated each year in February and commemorates the lives and accomplishments of black Americans.  The National Park Service Healthy Parks Healthy People program promotes the fact that all parks are cornerstones of health for people and the environment and encourages everyone to seek the benefits of physical and mental health, healing, and social well-being in their national parks. 

For more information about these special park events, please contact the park’s Diversity Program Manager Mariah Cissé at mariah_cisse@nps.gov or 928-638-7375. To learn more about the National Park Service Healthy Parks Healthy People program, please visit http://www.nps.gov/public_health/hp/hphp.htm; and for more information about Grand Canyon National Park, please go to the park’s website at www.nps.gov/grca or call 928-638-7888.