Walk of Life – A million footsteps

Join Sussexsport on Friday 20 November and help raise much needed funds for the RockingHorse Children’s Charity Appeal. 

This year's challenge is to walk over 1 million steps in support of our chosen charity. For the challenge we are using 2,350 steps as a mile; so form a team, choose a target and go for it! The challenge is simple and accessible to all, so why not join in?

A million steps is approximately 400-500 miles, depending on stride. This is the equivalent of:

• A walk from San Diego to San Francisco, California.
• A walk from Detroit, Michigan to New York City, New York.
• A walk from Paris, France to Milan, Italy.
• A walk from the white cliffs of Dover, England to Edinburgh, Scotland. A reason to sing along with The Proclaimers, "I would walk 500 miles..."

You could set a target as a team of completing 10,000 steps each. Why 10,000 steps? The average person walks somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 a day, but 10,000 steps a day is roughly the equivalent to 150 active minutes a week, which is the recommended guidelines to improve health and well-being.

If you are feeling adventurous then try and complete our famous step landmarks:

• The Leaning Tower of Pisa has 294 steps
• Tianmen Mountain – 999 steps to the ‘Cave’
• Montagne de Bueren – 374 steps to the top
• Empire State Building – 1,872
• Hampstead Tube Station – 320
• Great Pyramid of Giza – 203

10,000 steps is approximately just over 4 miles. You might be surprised to know that you may already be doing this during your day, but here are some things to help you reach your target and also help you to be more active in the future:

• Make it a family dog walk
• Get off the bus a stop early
• Park in the car park furthest away from the office
• Go for a team walk using one of our special Fundraising Friday routes around campus
• Walk across the office or the building to speak to someone rather than calling or emailing them
• Organise a walking meeting

Use a phone app over the next week to measure your activity and then set a target for the day, so if you are already doing 8,000 steps then set that challenge high and go for 10,000. Alternatively, if you are unable to get away from the desk then set it at 3,000 – 5,000. The idea is that on the day you challenge yourself to do a bit more than usual.

In order to raise money, we are asking each individual to donate £2, or to donate as a team. This will be collected by Sussexsport on Monday 23 November from your designated captain/person.

We will have a limited amount of pedometers to borrow for the day, however there are some excellent free pedometer apps that you can use. We recommend Argus and Pacer, they are both compatible with Apple and Android phones and also track distance and other measures such as active minutes and calorie expenditure.

Sussexsport have supported the RockingHorse Appeal for the past two years and are continuing with the commitment for another two years. So far, we have raised over £2,000 for the charity with support from both University staff and students.

Rockinghorse is a Brighton-based charity which has been supporting children for nearly 50 years. The charity is the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and also supports the Trevor Mann Baby Unit. Funds raised help to purchase life-saving and cutting-edge medical equipment, while ensuring that children are treated in an environment that is better suited to their needs.

To join Sussexsport’s 1 million footsteps challenge E: t.cooper@sussex.ac.uk