MaryKay Mullally Picture of Health

WHAT DOES GOOD HEALTH REALLY LOOK LIKE?

SAN DIEGO, CA, WOMAN AMONG 5 FINALISTS IN PREVENTION & ABC NEWS NOW SECOND ANNUAL “PICTURE OF HEALTH” CONTEST

NEW YORK, NY, MAY 1, 2008–-One woman lost a whopping 200 pounds and now works as a certified personal trainer. Another suffers from MS and runs marathons. Both are among the five finalists selected by Prevention and ABC News NOW in the second annual nationwide contest to find the woman over 40 who best embodies the "Picture of Health." The five women were announced today on ABC's Good Morning Americaand are profiled in the June issue of Prevention. Viewers can learn about each finalist and her charity, watch her submission video and cast votes for their favorite at: www.abcnewsnow.com/pictureofhealth and at www.prevention.com/pictureofhealth. Voting closes Saturday, May 31, 2008, at midnight, ET. The winner will be announced on Good Morning America in early June and appear in the September issue of Prevention. She will also receive $10,000—a $5,000 prize as well as $5,000 for her charity of choice.

"This year, we received so many entries that really touched our hearts. We found wonderful women who have dedicated themselves to helping people lead healthy lives and others who have overcome great obstacles to take control of their health," said Liz Vaccariello, editor-in-chief of Prevention. “This year’s finalists prove, once again, that the extraordinary is possible, and life only gets better after 40!"

"ABC News NOW is so pleased to be able to introduce these incredible women to our viewers," said Jessica Stedman Guff, executive producer, ABC News NOW. "Each one has an incredible, inspiring story to tell."

The 2008 “Picture of Health” finalists are:

MaryKay Mullally, 47, San Diego, CA: When sitting at her desk job for 12- and 14-hour days, Mullally would say to herself, there has to be more to my life than this. This desire to find meaning inspired her to sign up for a self-development seminar. In one of her courses, she created a half-marathon training group. What began as a class project became a calling, as Mullally left her position running a software development team and founded Step Up for Life, a beginners’ half-marathon training program for women. Now, four years later, she has led more than 600 women across the finish line and is currently developing a wellness coaching practice.

Eileen Friedman, 46, Plantation, FL: When she was diagnosed with MS in 2000, Friedman spent two years sick from medication and angry at the world. The jolt she needed came when she found a Web site that bore the message: “I have MS, but MS doesn’t have me.” She adopted that motto and decided to take control of her body, her health, and her nutrition. She started small—making dietary changes and playing tennis—and worked her way up to training for the NYC Marathon with the Achilles Track Club, a nonprofit training group for people with disabilities. Now, eight years after her diagnosis, Friedman has run three marathons—and raised thousands of dollars for MS research.

Colleen Kelley, 47, Shutesbury, MA: Kelley’s commitment to healthy living begins with helping others. She works as an environmental educator, teaching pre-schoolers about nature. But her passion for the world around her extends to every aspect of her life. Kelley takes full advantage of the outdoors, whether it’s swimming across a local lake, splitting logs for her wood-burning stove, or going for a run in the woods. And she encourages others to do the same, too: Recently, she convinced coworkers to bike 100 miles to a conference instead of driving—both cutting back on carbon emissions and helping them to get healthy.

Maria Ruoff, 69, Shillington, PA: The turning point for Ruoff’s life was when she was just 24 years old. Her husband died, leaving her with an infant and a toddler. That’s when she got vigilant about good health and nutrition. The next four decades came with their challenges: She was diagnosed with cancer at age 37, and later with Lyme disease and fibromyalgia. But she never lost her strength of spirit. Just last year, she increased her exercise, tweaked her eating habits and lost 50 pounds at age 68. Now, she walks three miles every day and says she feels like a new chapter in her life is just beginning. Ruoff inspires others to stay healthy through art.

Becky Griggs, 42, Oregon City, OR: When she weighed 352 lbs., Becky Griggs felt invisible to the world, despite her size. She knew that she was headed down a dangerous path to a lifetime of health problems. Sometimes, she was even afraid that she would die. Just getting out of bed made her heart race. She tried different diets, but one day realized she had no idea what it meant to be healthy and that she was living with no parameters. She took the “baby steps” approach: First, dropping French fries, then white sugar, and eventually she joined a gym. After four years, she shed a whopping 200 pounds—and now works as a personal trainer at the same gym she first joined.

To enter the "Picture of Health" contest, women or their nominators submitted essays and 1-minute testimonial videos explaining what good health means to them.

ABC News NOW is available to 44 million users across broadband, mobile and cable platforms. Key partners include Comcast, Sprint, Verizon, Charter, RCN, and MobiTV. Jessica Stedman Guff is the executive producer of ABC News NOW.

Prevention is the #1 healthy lifestyle magazine brand and the 9th largest magazine in the nation, with more than 11 million readers. The top online health magazine destination, www.prevention.com has 1.7 million unique visitors each month. Prevention publishes branded books, most recently the top-selling Flat Belly Diet! (www.flatbellydiet.com), special-interest publications (SIPs), bookazines, DVDs, and 15 international editions.