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These stories also will include charts recognizing individuals for reaching the 250,000-step intervals. If you reach the one of these milestones, send an e-mail with your name, department and date you reached the milestone to today@unmc.edu and we’ll list it in UNMC Today. |
Some employees are even close to reaching the 250,000-step mark, which represents the distance between Omaha and Aurora
That said, there’s time for people and teams to join the challenge, said Jayme Nekuda of the Center for Healthy Living (CFHL).
“The challenge lasts a year and we’re just getting started,” Nekuda said. “There’s plenty of time for employees to register and start walking.”
The objective of the challenge is to have each participating employee to log at least 1 million steps over the next year, Nekuda said. One million steps roughly equates to the distance between Omaha and western Nebraska’s Chimney Rock.
Here’s how the challenge works:
- UNMC employees obtain and wear a device called a pedometer, which counts the number of steps a person takes;
- At the end of each day, employees record the number of steps that particular day in a log book; and
- Walking 250,000 steps is roughly the equivalent of walking from Omaha to Aurora, 500,000 steps represents the distance between Gothenburg and Omaha, 750,000 steps equates to a walk from Omaha to Chappell and, as mentioned above, one million steps equals a trip from Omaha to Chimney Rock.
The cost to purchase a pedometer and logbook is $9. Pedometers can be purchased and picked up at the CFHL or routed through campus mail. If an employee already has a pedometer, the logbook is free. Contact Nekuda at 559-8448 or jnekuda@unmc.edu for more information.
In the team competition, the first team to have all its members walk 1 million steps will be treated to a pizza party.
Individuals also can pick up prizes for reaching each 250,000-step increment (250,000; 500,000; 750,000; 1,000,000). The prizes — which can be viewed online at www.unmc.edu/cfhl by clicking on One-Million Step Activity Challenge or in person at the CFHL — include books, socks, T-shirts, gym bags and lunch totes.
Nekuda said she was particularly impressed by the creativity employees used in coming up with team names – a sampling of which includes the College of Dentistry’s Dental Divas, Drugs R Us from the College of Pharmacy, the print shop’s Foot Prints and the internal medicine department’s I.M. Steppin’ Out.
Joining a team has many benefits for walkers, Nekuda said, including encouragement from teammates and camaraderie that comes from having a common goal.
“The overall goal of this challenge is for people to become more active,” Nekuda said. “Joining a team could provide walkers the fun and supportive environment they need to be more active and complete this activity.”