BOSTON -- Join the American Heart Association and NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner and take your heart for a walk with over 10,000 family, friends, co-workers and survivors at the 2008 Start! Boston Heart Walk on Saturday, Sept. 13, at the DCR Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the walk at 10:00 a.m. Each step raises funds to support lifesaving heart and stroke research with this year’s goal at $2.5M. Walkers that raise $100 will receive a Heart Walk T-shirt. Call 508-656-2022 or click here today to find out how you can do your part to save lives.

The Walk is emceed by Brunner and presented by Philips Medical Systems and Boston Scientific. Keith Block, executive vice president at Oracle North America was named this year’s Heart Walk Leadership Chair. City of Boston Mayor Menino joins Liz Brunner as a 2008 Start! Heart Walk Honorary Chair. Subway, Healthy Choice and AstraZeneca are the national sponsors of the Start! Heart Walk.

The event is part of the nationwide “Start!” campaign, which is a corporate wellness and walking program offered free by the American Heart Association. According to a Harvard study, Adults gain two hours of life expectancy for every hour of regular exercise. Walking has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity, and walking for as little as 30 minutes a day provides heart health benefits. Save the Date for the inaugural Greater Merrimack Valley Heart Walk
Join the American Heart Association for the 2008 Start! Merrimack Valley Heart Walk on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Sampas Pavilion on the Merrimack River in Lowell. Call 508-656-2022 or click here today to find out how you can do your part to save lives.