NEWBERRY, S.C. — The Newberry Downhill Mile, a family-friendly walk and fun run, will be held Saturday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m., starting at Newberry College.
Registration begins at 9:15 a.m. at the Newberry College Wolf statue. The one-mile route runs from the Wolf statue to downtown, ending on the Square at Community Hall with a complimentary breakfast. The Newberry County Council on Aging will provide a bus shuttle back to the college. Registration is $20.00 (plus $3.18 in fees) and includes a T-shirt, swag bag, breakfast and the return ride.
The walk is sponsored by the Live Healthy Newberry County Coalition, a coalition of community members and representatives from various organizations. It seeks to improve the health of all Newberry County residents, with projects centered on healthy eating and active living, and works to help prevent and manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and close health disparity gaps.
There is room to improve. Using 2025 County Health Rankings data, Newberry County has a health score of 33/100 and ranks #25 out of 46 counties in South Carolina.
Life expectancy in Newberry matches the state average of 72.5 years but is lower than the national average of 77 years. About 19.5% of adults in the county report being in poor or fair health, compared to the national norm of 17%, and the uninsured rate is 12.1%, exceeding both the state average of 11.6% and the national rate of 10%.
The county reports 75 mental health providers for every 100,000 residents, which is considerably lower than the national median of 250.
