If you’re wearing a fancy pedometer like a Fitbit or a Jawbone, you may be swept up in a little competition for steps with your friends and co-workers.  Last week, the Orange County Health Department took step competitions to a whole new level.

“We have challenged our brothers and sisters at the Durham County Health Department to a walking challenge,” Orange County Health Department Director Colleen Bridger said.

The two departments will compete to walk the equivalent of the Appalachian Trail starting August 3. The first team to complete the trail’s 2,168 miles will win. And it’s not just bragging rights on the line.

“The health director and I have a friendly wager,” Bridger said. “So whichever health department wins, the other health department will owe a basket of that county’s themed items for a value of about $50.”

This is the Orange County Health Department’s second walking competition. The department held an internal competition among its staff this spring to walk to Orange County, California. Bridger says these competitions are meant show that exercising doesn’t have to be a chore.

“It’s really important to have people understand that moving can be fun—should be fun,” Bridger said.  “And any time that we get the opportunity as public health professionals to kind of walk that walk—complete pun intended—then we are really excited about it.”

Bridger says she hopes the competition will also raise awareness about the benefits of walking, which she says, are many.

“It’s good for your weight, it’s good for your blood pressure, it’s good for your muscles and balance,” Bridger explained. “But there have also been a lot of studies that show that walking is extremely good for your mental health. And the way that we’re doing it facilitates the fact that it’s a really good way to build camaraderie with people, which is also good for your mental health.”

The departments expect the challenge to last 6 to 8 weeks. We’ll have to wait until the fall to find out which county will come out on top.

 

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