Walkers clock up thousands of miles
Walkers taking part in the West Midlands TravelWise Walking Challenge have trekked the equivalent distance of Birmingham to Auckland in New Zealand and part of the journey back.
More than 350 people took part in the regional challenge for businesses during last month.
The original idea was for teams to walk the equivalent distance from the Angel of the North to the Tower of London without leaving the West Midlands.
Between them though, they clocked up just under 26 million steps, which equates to nearly 13,000 miles. Auckland is only 11,940 miles away from Birmingham.
The Challenge asked businesses to provide teams of up to 5 people or individuals who would count the number of steps they took in the working week during October. The aim was to encourage employees to walk more in their daily lives, including walking to work, walking to the shops at lunchtime, walking home from school with the kids or just running up and down the stairs at work.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “Walking is a fantastic way of getting your heart beating and getting fit without really changing your lifestyle at all. If you live within a mile or so of work you’ll probably find it’s quicker to walk than to sit in traffic and try and find a parking space.
“The local effort has been great and I must give a special mention to Alison Insley who managed to walk 287 miles in the month of October.”
The winners of the Walking Challenge Awards are as follows:
Winner of the Individual Challenge Award
Tori Tench - Wolverhampton City Council - 238 miles
Winner of the Team Challenge Award
The Travellers - Coventry City Council - 862 miles
Winner of the Furthest Distance Walked Award
Alison Insley - Warwickshire County Council - 287 miles
Here are comments from some of the participants:
I think most of us enjoyed taking part in it and some may even carry on so thanks for the kick-start. – Julie Butler – Wolverhampton City Council
I am sure the challenge encouraged me to walk more than I would have done, even if I struggled to reach 10,000 steps on some days. I think it was a really good idea. – Dr Jenny O’Leary – University of Warwick
Wow! No wonder I need new trainers! – Tori Tench – Wolverhampton City Council
Joanne Rainbow, TravelWise Co-ordinator at Coventry City Council, who organised the Walking Challenge, said: "This Challenge has really got people thinking about how far they walk each day and has encouraged them to walk that bit further. Hopefully most of them will keep up the amount of walking they have done as it will not only benefit their health, but also encourage them to make the switch from the car to walking or to public transport for those short journeys we all do like taking the kids to school to picking up the Sunday papers."
The event has been so successful that it is being repeated in 2008.