Walking to Whistler Via Anchorage

At my office they are doing this PACE study (stands for Promoting Activity and Changes in Eating). Every few months they come up with a new way to inspire us to get more exercise and eat better. This month it’s a 3 week challenge for 40 of us to walk a certain number of steps which we turn into a virtual walk from Seattle to Anchorage to the Four Seasons Resort in Whistler, BC.

They gave us all pedometers and water bottles and we have to turn in our steps once a day. They also posted some reasonable walking routes from the office that are doable on lunches or breaks.

The goal is to raise our awareness of how much we move and inspire us to walk more. So far I’ve tried out the walking routes and I’m doing a respectable job on my number of steps.

Each week there is a raffle drawing for a gift certificate to Whole Foods or REI from those who have turned in their steps. What I appreciate is that it's noncompetitive. You don't get penalized if you didn't walk enough steps. Any competition is with yourself.

My friend who is organizing this "walk" had some extra pedometers and offered me one for Walter if he would do this with me. He took up the challenge (once I explained to him that no, we were not actually walking to Anchorage) and he has gotten back to walking every day.

At the end there will be a grand prize raffle drawing and the winner gets a summer weekend trip to the actual Four Seasons Resort in Whistler!