Lancashire businesses are being asked to encourage employees to walk, run, hop, skip, jump or swim a mile on 18 May 2018.
The aim is to encourage at least 24,901 people to pledge to take part on Your Mile Your Way Day, which in cumulative distance terms would equate to going around the world!
Your Mile Your Way is being coordinated by Lancashire County Council as part of its Active Lives and Healthy Weight programme, and leisure providers who deliver the programme in each area will all be running activities on May 18.
A range of activities are being planned right across the county on the day that will be free to join in or alternatively, people can just do their own thing —as long as they remember to pledge their mile via the Your Mile Your Way website.
County Councillor Terry Aldridge, chairman of Lancashire County Council, said: “I’ve always been very active and go to the gym about three times a week – it makes a huge difference to me. Not only do you feel physically fitter, exercise also helps to focus your mind and it’s a great way to socialise with others.
“I’m chairman of the local junior football league and I’ve been involved in local boxing groups in Skelmersdale. It’s great seeing how getting involved in sport is encouraging young people to keep fit. The great thing about Your Mile Your Way is that it will encourage even more people to get active – I’m going to have a think about what I’m going to do for my mile.”
The Your Mile Your Way website features links to all the events in each area — which include a walking football tournament, Nordic walking, kayaking and even a dance-a-mile session.
One of the highlights of the day’s activity is a three-park challenge which will see teams transport an actual sofa for the length of a mile around Alkincoats Park (10am), Barrowford Park (3pm) and Victoria Park (6.30pm) in Pendle, to provide a new spin on the Couch to 5k programme.
Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health for Lancashire County Council, said: “The figures show that we need to do more to encourage people, young and old, in every part of Lancashire to become more active.
“We’re hoping Your Mile Your Way Day on May 18 will become a catalyst for people across the county to commit to taking up more regular exercise. The health benefits for the individuals would be enormous.”
The initiative is being supported by comedian Ted Robbins — star of Phoenix Nights — who shed more than four stone and became a gym regular after surviving an on-stage heart attack.
Ted said: “It took a cardiac arrest for me to look at my life differently. But during my recovery I started doing short daily walks which doctors recommended to get my strength back up.
“I started off doing a walk around the hospital ward, then a 15-minute walk, then half an hour, and now I have built up to a couple of miles. I would love to eventually do a fundraising walk or jog. The great thing is, I enjoy it and I look and feel younger than I have for ages.”
Figures show that 23 per cent of adults, equating to around 218,000, in Lancashire do less than 30 minutes of moderate activity a week, when the Chief Medical Officer recommends adults undertake 150 minutes of activity each week.
Children aged between 5 and 18 should be taking part in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day, however survey results show that only 15% of children aged 15 in Lancashire are estimated to be reaching that level.
