The Office of Health Promotion unveiled the Villanova Campus Trail on March 30. The dedication was led by University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A.

“Our office has always wanted to create a safe and easy-to-follow trail on campus for the Villanova Community,” said Jessica Pellicciotta, Coordinator of Nutrition and Fitness Programs at Villanova and the main force behind the Campus Trail project.

The trail is a total of three miles and is located entirely on campus.

“It has a South Campus, Main Campus and West Campus loop,” said Pellicciotta.

Without a specific beginning or end point, the trail circles around South Campus, up Ithan Avenue, around Bartley Hall and behind Sullivan Hall, under the R5 and around the West Campus apartments, up Spring Mill Road, past Tolentine Hall, and eventually to the Oreo and Quad area.

Originally, the trail was split into three separate loops until it was decided that a longer, connected trail would be more conducive to a better workout.

Besides deciding what would give users the best exercise possible, the planners also took safety into consideration when mapping out the trail.

The Office of Health Promotion worked with Facilities Management and the Risk Management Office to ensure the well-being of those who would use the trail.

“The trail went through several revisions to meet all the requirements for safety,” Pellicciotta said.

Before deciding what path the official trail would take, the planners had to make sure the trail was free of hazardous surfaces and that the lighting was adequate.

Once the safety requirements were met, the next step was figuring out a way to identify the trail on campus.

“We decided to use the Office of Health Promotion’s apple logo as the trail marker,” Pellicciotta said.

There are spray-painted apple logos every quarter of a mile so users can monitor their progress.

The campus trail venture was first introduced two years ago but has been an idea for much longer.

“This project has been a goal of mine since I started at Villanova about nine years ago,” Pellicciotta said.

Even though the project took a significant amount of time to get off the ground, there were minimal economic, environmental or community setbacks.

“Since the trail incorporates existing walkways and paths, there was very little cost involved in the construction of the trail,” Pellicciotta said.

Since the trail is contained on campus, Villanova did not have to worry about affecting the community with construction.

Even though Villanova has three gyms on campus, one of which, The Davis Center, is barely a year old, the trail is an important and necessary addition to campus.

“The Campus Master Plan focuses on making Villanova a more pedestrian-friendly campus. The trail supports that mission,” Pellicciotta said.

Besides working in tandem with the Campus Master Plan, the main goal of the trail is to motivate students, faculty and staff to be active.

“We want to encourage the Villanova Community to get moving,” Pellicciotta said.

The dedication included information on how to best use the new trail and suggestions on how to exercise in the healthiest way possible.

Tips included stretching before and after exercising, wearing comfortable clothing when exercising and maintaining a balanced diet of nutritious food and lots of water.

Brochures depicting the official layout of the Villanova Campus Trail are available in the Office of Health Promotion, located on the first floor of the Health Services Building.