By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau
The team names have been rolling in – These 'Lopes Are Made for Walkin’, Sole Survivors, Dubsteppin’, Happy Feet, Galloping Grammarians – for the Team Walking Challenge, but it’s not too late to form your own team. Don’t delay, though. The competition starts Monday.
The 60-day event, open to all Grand Canyon University faculty and staff, is sponsored by the GCU Wellness Committee. All you need to take part is (1) a team, (2) a name for your team and (3) a desire to get out there and walk, walk, walk. The goal is for each team member to take 10,000 steps (about five miles) a day, walking or running, and record it on the American Heart Association website. Pedometers will be provided.
To spice up the competition, there will be prizes attached to periodic challenges. The first one, for the week of March 10-16: All team members must register and participate each day of the first week to be eligible for a drawing to win lunch for the whole team, supplied by Subway.
To register, click here. Make sure you select Grand Canyon University in the “Company” field, and your team name should be entered in the “Dept/Team” field. It’s important to spell your team name correctly; you also need to click on the box under “Preferences” that reads, “If checked, your employer will be able to see your name, department, email address and physical activities.” If you don’t check that box, your name won’t appear on your team list.
Once you have signed up, contact a member of the Wellness Committee, listed on LopeNet, and you will be given your pedometers.
Even if you don’t have a team and don’t know anyone who would want to join you in some exercise, you still can take part in the Challenge. Just contact anyone on the Wellness Committee and they’ll get you hooked up.
And if you're wondering how you're going to walk 10,000 steps a day, consider this: It's about 500 steps from the parking garage to the middle of campus. Here are some other ways you can get in step with the Challenge:
- Park your car in the far end of any parking lot. You'll get fewer dents that way, too.
- Take the stairs, not the elevator. You'll probably get upstairs faster that way.
- Rather than send an email to someone nearby, walk over and tell them directly. Better way to communicate.
- Bring a lunch from home and use part of the lunch hour to take a walk. Thirty minutes should equal about 3,000 steps.
- Look for errands that can be done on foot, such as going to the mailbox. Healthier for your gas budget, too.
Contact Rick Vacek at 639.8203 or [email protected].
