April 5, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
The annual Walk Across Tennessee event locally begins Monday, April 8 and you are invited to participate.
“Walk across Tennessee is an 8-week team competition to see who can log the most miles exercising,” said April Martin of the UT-TSU Extension Office.
“You are not literally walking across Tennessee. Your team is exercising for 8 weeks, and the goal is to accumulate the equivalent of 500 miles which is the length of the state of Tennessee. It’s a fun friendly competition and what better way to get fit,” explained Martin.
“We have over 200 people in the county and some from outside the county who are joining in this event. There are more than 23 teams,” Martin continued.
“Anyone can be on a team including youth, adults, coworkers, friends, family, etc. and there is no fee. You can have up to 8 people on your team. Each team has a captain and team members report to their captain each week on how many miles they have walked,” said Martin. “You don’t have to just walk. You can do other exercises. For example, the weight training class I am teaching can count as well as bicycling, even gardening, housecleaning, or other daily activities considered exercising. You can count that. We have a conversion chart for that. All this is an effort to get everybody more motivated and to get them outside and more active because the more physically active you are you’re going to lose weight, feel better, build stronger bones, and it helps with fall prevention. There are just so many benefits from walking or exercising,” said Martin.
How to participate?
1. Come up with up to 8 team members
2. Choose a Team Captain and a Team Name
3. Team Captain download the captain’s packet at https://dekalb.tennessee.edu/ and have each team member complete the individual registration. Packets are available outside the office of the UT UT – TSU Extension- DeKalb County located inside the DeKalb County Complex Building.
4. Attend the Kickoff and root for your team on Monday, April 8th at Greenbrook Park.
5. Exercise for 8 weeks. Any exercise counts. We have a conversion chart you can use. Exercise must be purposeful and last at least 10 minutes to count. I.E. Not wearing pedometers/fitness watches and counting all the steps accumulated throughout the day.
Call the office if you have any questions at 615-597-4945.