2012 GUWellness Walking Challenge (June 16 - July 27): GUWellness: Mind, Body, Soul

Keeping it Fresh.

The format for this year’s Walking Challenge is shifting so that the focus will be on overall group participation. Each team will rack up points by tackling several walking paths designated specifically for the challenge. So, how does it work?

1. Build Your Team.

Each team must be formed within an office/department. We want you and your colleagues working together on this one. You must have a minimum of three team members to participate.

2. Designate a Team Leader.

The Team Leader will be responsible for submitting your team name and total number of participants at the beginning of the challenge, as well as reporting the team’s results each week through the online form available HERE. Team leaders that keep their team motivated and participating throughout the challenge will receive cool prizes.

3. Register Your Team.

Team leader must email wellness@georgetown.edu with Team/Office Name, Team Leader Name & number of participants.

4. Come to the Kick-Off.

Join us for a Walk with Charles on Thursday, June 21 at 12:30 in Healy Circle. We’ll be gathering a little early (beginning around 12 pm) to share some wellness-related giveaways and healthy snacks. Here you’ll have the opportunity to hang out with colleagues and fellow walkers as we cover the outline of the program and begin with a walk (Worth 4 points!) to get everyone started!

The GUWellness team will also be on hand for the walk on Thursday, June 14 to answer any questions ahead of time.

5. Walk the Walk.

Walks can be found on startwalkingnow.org by searching for “GUWellness”. We have created a variety of walking paths that are accessible around the Main Campus, Wisconsin Avenue locations, and the Law Center. Individual walkers can also use this site as a great resource for tracking their own walking and other exercise efforts. 

IMPORTANT: This is NOT where you track your walks for team credit, however. Your team leader will be responsible for gathering information about what team members have completed which walks, and submitting that through the GUWellness Walking Challenge Tracking Form available on the wellness website (wellness.georgetown.edu).

6. Track Your Progress.

Each week, team leaders will be responsible for tracking their team’s participation through the online tracking form available on the GUWellness website. All the team leaders need to record is how many people participated in which walks.

The tracking form is a two-stage process, where the team leader will record basic information about their team on the first page, and provide the tracking results for participation in all of the walks on the second page:

7. What’s the Score?

Based upon the information recorded, points for each walk are awarded based on the approximate (using standard rounding rules) number of miles in the walk.

Ex: .5 – 1.4 miles = 1 point
1. 5 – 2.4 miles = 2 points
2.5 – 3.4 miles = 3 points
3.5 + miles = 4 points

Bonus points will be awarded for the GUWellness Walk With Charles (4 points total) and for our Featured Walk of the Week (4 points total). We will also send out weekly highlight emails with other Wellness activities (Such as the Free Yoga for Faculty & Staff, the Walking Meditation, & Biking Safely in Traffic courses) that will earn your team bonus points as well. The online tracking for will be updated accordingly.

Total weekly and final scores will be based upon the number of points earned multiplied by the percentage of participation reported- each week the team leader will record what walks have been completed by any member of the team as well as the number of people in the team and the number who participated in at least one walk that week.

Given this information, it’s important to note that your team can rack up just as many points tackling shorter walks more frequently as you can by taking on some of the longer walks. Also, participation is key! It’s important to keep your entire team motivated and engaged with the challenge in order to have the greatest success.

Again, it’s important to remember that team leaders do not need to calculate the number of points their team has accrued- they need only list the number of people who have participated in each different walk.

8. What’s my motivation?

The winning team will be treated to great prizes as well as a wellness-themed day of relaxation to enjoy as a group. And, of course, the health benefits of walking more will be available to all participants. We’re also offering an additional incentive for team captains- keep your team motivated throughout the challenge & track their results for every week of the challenge… and GUWellness will help you slip into a new pair of walking shoes to keep you going strong!