Lanarkshire’s favourite challenge is back for 2022, and will take place from Monday 18 April to Friday 28 May!
Sign in is open to register your team before Sunday 17 April: https://hwl.bigteamchallenge.com/ If you created an account last year, you don’t have to re-register, simply log on and set up your team!
Last year, an incredible 1620 participants in total from 395 teams entered to take part and racked up an astounding 720 million steps – the equivalent of walking over 12 times around the planet or walking to Inverness and back, 1000 times.
This challenge is all about reaping the benefits of a little exercise, some fresh air and working with your team mates to reach each milestone along the way.
The six-week challenge is to walk the length of Italy – 1160.3km; 721 miles or 1,691,922 steps – there are 9 milestones along the way: Genoa – Turin – Milan – Verona – Venice – Bologna – Florence – Assisi – Rome.
With registration now open, here’s how you can get involved in this year’s walking challenge:
What is the Walking Challenge?
It’s a free, six-week event where all NHS Lanarkshire staff can participate by getting together a team of five or registering individually, choosing a fun team name and striding through the streets and counting their steps.
Every step counts – whether it’s walking or running, as long as you use your legs and feet, it all counts towards your total!
Above all, remember this is your challenge! It’s about having fun and getting outdoors. Set your own goals, or don’t! Just try and log your steps so you can chart your progress through the milestones of Italy and see what you can learn along the way.
How do I count my steps?
You can use a step counter, fitness device, smartwatch or free smartphone pedometer app. If you don’t have one, there are a limited number of pedometers and fitness bands available to borrow via the Health Improvement library.
Last year, the winning team were ‘The Knockouts’ captained by Ogechi Lubeigt, anaesthetic department, University Hospital Wishaw. The team managed a spectacular 4,951.1km.
On being crowned the winning team, Ogechi said: “As a team, we were absolutely delighted to have won the challenge for 2021. It was a very good distraction from the day-to-day madness going on around us. There was a healthy rivalry between the various teams of the anaesthetic department which really spurred us on to put in the distance and made the victory even sweeter.”
Ogechi was also the individual with the most steps overall, with a tremendous 1,870km. Ogechi, said: “The challenge certainly brought out a competitive side to me that I didn’t even know existed. Nevertheless, I was very surprised to find out that I had covered the greatest distance during the competition. I did have an excellent team and we all spurred each other on. It was a great incentive which has continued after the competition.”
