Wellness Competition Aims for 10 Million Steps
Alma College faculty and staff are “stepping up” to wellness.
A month long “Stepping Up for Spring” walking/running competition from
May 1 through 31 features four-person teams striving to achieve the
highest step totals over the 31-day contest.
“We challenged the campus to achieve 10 million steps, which
translates to approximately 5,800 miles, which is roughly the roundtrip
distance from Alma to our emerging educational partnership in Quito,
Ecuador,” says Cheyenne Luzynski, a member of the campus wellness
committee.
The goal was achieved by May 11 and increased to 35 million steps. For achieving the original 10 million step goal, Alma College will contribute $5,800 toward enhancements of the local Rails to Trails Project in the segment along the campus.
Thirty-seven Alma College faculty and staff teams have registered for
the competition, with names like Team Slow, Go for Broke, Walking
Sticks, Three Ladies and a Dude, and Windwalkers.
Participants at Alma College have received College-issued pedometers to
track their daily steps. Teams are organized into open and novice
divisions; individuals who exercise less than 30 minutes twice a week
qualify for the novice division.
“It’s so easy to do,” says Luzynski. “By simply wearing a pedometer you
become more conscience of the number of steps you take during a day.
Every step counts, even walking from the parking lot to your office
when you arrive at work in the morning, or walking in the aisles at the
grocery store as you do your shopping. Of course, taking time to
implement a personal walking or running program will add to your step
totals and provide a healthy activity.
“There also is an international component,” says Luzynski. “Faculty
members who teach Spring Term courses abroad can record their steps no
matter what part of the world they are in. We posted a world map
at the Recreation Center to highlight all the locations where Alma
College faculty and staff are recording their steps.”
The total steps of each four-person team are recorded on charts at
the Stone Recreation Center. Prizes will be awarded to the individuals
on the winning teams in each division.
-mjs-
Posted: Sun, May 18th, 2008 at 7:01AM
