Walking to win
Workplace teams like the Jabberwalkies and Strollin’ for the Colon stay active in a virtual statewide walking competition.
Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. To stay healthy and engage in friendly competition, this spring Carolina employees participated in the Miles for Wellness Challenge, organized by the North Carolina Office of State Human Resources.
The most recent Miles for Wellness challenge, #23, began March 15 and ended May 9. Carolina employees competed in teams of 10 against other teams across the state in the challenge, “Traversing the Southern Capitols of the United States.”
The competition was virtual, which means participants counted their steps, combined step totals with teammates and plotted the mileage on maps linking state capitols. Teams began at the North Carolina state capitol in Raleigh and “traveled” across southern states, passing through South Carolina, Georgia and so on. The virtual trek to 16 state capitols allowed teams to learn more about the history of each capitol and see unique architecture.
The Miles for Wellness Challenge started more than 10 years ago to encourage employees to move more. Before COVID-19, teams met and walked together.
The global pandemic didn’t stop teams from walking.
The goal of the eight-week challenge is better health and online social interaction. Participants are encouraged to complete 10,000 steps, or the equivalent of five miles, most days of the week.
Besides walking, participants can engage in other forms of physical activities. Activities are converted into steps for the purpose of the competition. To convert other activities into steps, participants find the drop-down list on their activity log, select the activity they completed and enter the duration of exercise. The form converts that time to steps.
Teams compete in four divisions: Bionic Hare, Super Hare, Hare and Tortoise. Divisions are based on the average number of steps each member takes per week. For example, teams in the Bionic Hare division average more than 105,000 steps per week, per member. Teams in the Tortoise division average 56,000 steps per week, per member. Participants plot their weekly step counts on the virtual map.
Ashley Hester, a fire safety professional with UNC Environment, Health and Safety, has participated in past challenges. As a captain, she organizes her team, the Safety Squad, motivates them to get steps in and reports the team’s step tally every two weeks. Last fall, during Challenge #22, “Walking the Lakeside Trails,” the Safety Squad completed 10,483,205 steps — the equivalent of 5,242 miles — the most among all Carolina teams.
“This challenge is a fun, friendly competition that promotes and maintains fitness. I would recommend doing this, especially during Covid times, to get out and get moving. There are great health effects to it and its great for mental health. I like that I can enjoy the nice weather and enjoy campus during my lunch break,” Hester said.
Susan Chen, an administrative support associate in the Office of Graduate Education, has participated in previous challenges and is participating this year as a captain.
“I love this challenge! I would definitely encourage more Carolina professionals to participate. It is a great office bonding activity. It’s great to track your own data for your physical health and see what you can improve on in the future,” Chen said. And it includes more than walking. “If you did gardening or weightlifting, there is a conversion for it.”
Teams also get to show their creativity and have fun when picking a team name. Last year Carolina teams had names like Between a Walk and a Hard Place, Jabberwalkies and Strollin’ for the Colon.
“Picking out a name for the team definitely adds fun to the competition, since in the end it’s all fun and games. We try to come up with a funny, catchy name that represents the team. This year, our team name is Rad Bio Fish to try to represent all members on the team,” Hester said. Her team consists of EHS employees who work with radiation safety (Rad), biological safety (Bio) and fire safety and industrial hygiene (Fish).
Last year, 38 Carolina teams contributed 117,240,888 steps — the equivalent of 88,620 miles — to the overall challenge.
“It would be great if we could really get this going at Carolina, maybe even have our own internal competition,” Hester said.
Get walking
Miles for Wellness typically hosts challenges in the spring and fall. The program is great for increasing levels of physical activity. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regular physical activity can help:
- control your weight;
- reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease;
- reduce your risk for Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome;
- reduce your risk of some cancers;
- strengthen your bones and muscles;
- improve your mental health and mood;
- improve your ability to do daily activities and prevent falls, if you’re an older adult; and
- increase your chances of living longer.
It’s recommended that you monitor your daily physical activity with a fitness or activity tracker. The wearable device tracks fitness-related metrics and may be synced with a computer or smartphone to use for long-term data tracking.
Miles for Wellness is sponsored by the Total Rewards Division of the Office of State Human Resources. To find out more visit the Miles for Wellness website.
