As a way to motivate people to “get fit and feel great,” organizers of Alden’s Morin Lake Days made that the theme of this year’s festival.

Amy and Kory Newman, and their parents, took that theme to heart. The couple along with Kory’s father, Gary Newman, and Amy’s parents, Nanette and Wayne Hendrickson, came in second place in the Morin Lake Days weight-loss challenge.

Combined, the team lost 5.95 percent of its starting weight.

Individually, Kory lost 37.25 pounds, or 15.42 percent of his body weight, making him the top man in the challenge for both pounds and percent lost. Amy lost 24.75 pounds, or 15.14 percent of her body weight, placing her the top woman in the challenge for percentage lost.

“It just sounded like fun,” Amy said. “We both needed to lose weight.”

During the 12-week challenge, Amy and Kory said they got more exercise, ate more fruits and vegetables, and Kory switched to diet soda.

As a culmination of their weight-loss accomplishments, Amy and Kory ran the 10-kilometer race of the 18th annual Morin Lake Days Fun Run Saturday morning. The 6-mile run is also part of the couple’s training for the April Sorenson Memorial Half Marathon (13 miles) coming July 12, Amy said. Kory is distantly related to April Sorenson’s family.

Kory finished the 10K in 51 minutes and 25 seconds. Amy finished in one hour, 2 minutes and 1 second.

The first place team in the weight-loss challenge consisted of Brian Jacobs, Amber, Jacobs, Jillian Jacobs and Emily Latch — parents and their two daughters. The team lost 10.99 percent of their total weight. The first place winners were the grand marshals of the Morin Lake Days Parade.

The third place team was made up of weight-loss challenge coordinator Natalie Schmidt, Donna Schmidt, LaVonne Newman, Linda Klocek, Frank Purdy and Tammy Williams. They lost 5.34 percent of their starting weight.

The first and third place teams plus another team — Dawn Armstrong, Erin Hornberger and Heidi Johnson — had all their members lose at least 3 percent of their weight each.

“It was fun,” Amy said.

Of the top nine individuals in the competition, four were men and five were women, according to coordinator Natalie Schmidt. The top nine people lost a total of 225.5 pounds or 44.37 percent of the total weight lost.

Three of the top nine people lost more than 35 pounds, two lost more than 25 pounds, and all of the top nine lost more than 20 pounds, according to Schmidt.

The entire event, which began in March with initial weigh-ins, saw 48 people complete the challenge and lose a total of 508.2 pounds, according to Schmidt.

“Knowing they were in this made them more conscious of what they were doing, what they were eating,” she said.

Each participant got a pedometer and was given a goal of 10,000 steps a day.

Seventy people weighed in and formed 16 teams. Only 10 teams completed the challenge, Schmidt said.

“It’s just something I think a lot of people will probably try and keep up with,” she said.

Teams were to consist of three to six people, and participants couldn’t be involved with any weight-loss medications. It had to be a natural process, but groups such as Weight Watchers could help. Anyone in sixth-grade or older could participate in the challenge, and those under 18 needed parental consent.

The “Get Fit and Feel Great” theme of the weekend festival came during a brainstorming session, Schmidt said.

“All of a sudden this just kind of hit,” she said. “It just seemed like a good thing to try and do.” The Alden Clinic, part of the Albert Lea Medical Center, was a sponsor and helped the weight-loss challenge committee through the event.

The fun run, softball and volleyball games all tied into the idea of getting in shape and feeling good about your body. The fun run had three different races: 1 mile, 3 mile and a 10K. The race started at Main Street and Euclid Avenue, and depending on which race, went around the lake or into the countryside.

Schmidt said she has had a lot of comments about wanting the weight-loss challenge to continue in coming years. It might be fun, she said, to have another weigh-in in the fall to see how people are keeping up with their weight loss or maintaining the pounds already shed.

The new addition to the school in Alden — which includes a fitness area for the community — should help in maintaining, Schmidt said.

“That will be a good addition, something that everybody’s looking forward to, I think,” she said.

Box: Morin Lake Days Sunday events

8 a.m. to noon: Silent auction, food shelf and pull-tab collections at City Hall

8 a.m. to noon: Lion’s Club pancake breakfast at Morin Lake Park serving pancakes, eggs, sausage, juice and coffee

9:30 a.m.: Worship by the Water, a community church service by the Morin Lake boat landing. Bring your own lawn chair. The rain location is United Methodist Church.

Noon: Silent auction ends

All day: Softball tournament and food stand at North Park.