DETROIT — Burpees. Traveling push-ups. Prisoner squats. Toe touches.
Safe to say that supermodel and actress Kate Uptonbreathed a sigh of relief when it was all over.
“We’re done, right?” she asked after the fifth round of workouts, as she walked back down Harwell Field at Wayne State University after finishing a final jog.
Upton was part of the Workout with the Marines, an event organized by the Wins for Warriors Foundation, a group founded by Upton's fiancé and Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander. Five other members of the Tigers Wives, the wives and significant others of Detroit Tigers players, participated in the exercise alongside Upton.
The workout raised awareness for Detroit Marine Week, a weeklong event honoring the Marine Corps and their families through more than 80 community outreach activities throughout metro Detroit, according to a Marine Week news release. The events will take place Sept. 6-10.
“I love doing things like this, because welcoming the military back home and showing them how much you appreciate them by welcoming them into the community is a great thing to do, and we’re really excited that the Marines chose Detroit to come (to) this year,” Upton said after the workout.
The Wins for Warriors Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering veterans by focusing on family bonding, has donated $1 million to veterans' non-profit organizations since 2013, according to the foundation’s website.
Verlander said the foundation began after he met veterans delivering the game ball to the mound, and it snowballed from there.
“I wouldn’t be able to be here in this free nation playing America’s pastime, without these men and women,” said Verlander.
About 700 Marines will participate in Marine Week events, including demonstrations of aviation and reconnaissance Marines executing a mission on a barge on the Detroit riverfront, according to the Marines.
Wins for Warriors will host the inaugural Patriot Ruck on Sept. 9 at Hart Plaza.
A ruck is a march or walk with a rucksack on one's back, and it will honor military members, veterans and first responders who served after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, according to the Patriot Ruck website.
