For the month of April, Baylor University is collaborating with more than 175 nationwide organizations to encourage healthy living and good exercise habits in what they call the “Million Mile Month” challenge.
Van Davis, assistant director of wellness at Baylor, is organizing a kickoff event at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at the Cub Trail behind the Baylor Sciences Building to begin the event. Special guest speakers will give a few encouraging words, and then everyone will have the option to walk one mile around the Cub Trail or to finish the full Bear Trail as a group.
Davis is hoping that this challenge will foster healthy habits and regular exercise.
“If people feel like they are working towards a goal that’s bigger than themselves, they’re more likely to want to exercise.” Davis said.
The Million Mile Month challenge is a national campaign run annually by the health systems company, HealthCode.
When people sign up for the challenge, they donate a certain amount of money to the challenge, and those donations help low income families join the movement for free.
The challenge’s website states, “Million Mile Month challenges individuals and groups to join together as a global community to complete one million miles of physical activity during the month of April and to engage in a huge cause: their health”.
Davis and the Wellness staff are hoping that the Million Mile Month will encourage Baylor students to become proactive with their health.
“It’s around the time that the motivation to follow through with New Year’s Resolutions begin to fade away. We hope that this challenge will remind people about their goals,” Davis said.
To sign up for the Million Mile Month challenge, go https://millionmilemonth.org/mmm2016 and choose the “Bronze” registration option. During the registration process, there will be an “Edit Your Profile” page where Baylor participants can select “Baylor University” from the drop-down menu labeled “Select Your Organization.” This confirms that Baylor will earn points for every mile completed.
One of the goals for Baylor is to be on the national leaderboards. Sign up and help Baylor join the nation’s top mile-earners.
Columbus, Ohio, freshman Sarah Carr is planning on participating in the Million Mile Month.
“Exercise keeps our bodies in form to allow us to live to the max. To really take advantage of what life offers, your body needs to be strong and stable, which comes from a balanced diet and good exercise. The Million Mile Month is good because it holds you accountable for your goals since you are plugged in to a community,” Carr said.
