Why do we record our number of walks?
Monday 22 August 2022
Ellen Neuss of Maryborough, QLD has done 5516 walks. This is the highest number achieved by anyone in our program. Her efforts have spanned over 12 years of walking most days of the week with her group, Maryborough Walk and Talk. The friendships made and the good times had during those walks is immeasurable.
93 participants have clocked up walks anywhere between 2000 and Ellen’s pinnacle milestone.
There are 336 walkers who have clocked up over 1000 walks, and this number is growing every month. It takes on average 10 years of walking twice a week, to reach that milestone and the beloved T-Shirt it rewards!
We can incentivise and pay homage to these achievements, thanks to the ongoing effort of our volunteer Walk Organisers, who submit attendance logs every month.
Incentives, even if only a small acknowledgment, can be the encouragement that many walkers need to keep walking. When a new walker joins their local group, they can opt in to be part of the Walker Recognition Scheme, which allows them to receive this recognition at different walking milestones.
Attendance logs don’t just allow us to recognise walkers. They allow us to assess long term habits and behaviour around physical activity. And long-term healthy habits are so important in reducing the risk of chronic disease.
If we can show that participants are continuing to walk years after joining the program, we can increase our chance of gaining funding to support the program. Our funding goes into support staff, resource provision and development, insurance, events, incentives, and risk management to name a few.
Some groups are supported by Local Coordinators, who can also rely on this information to know how the program is going and continue to provide support.
So, we need to know if we are having some impact out there. And if we show that the Heart Foundation Walking program and our Host Organisations are getting people moving, and continuing to move, then we can better ensure that the show will go on. Which is good news for healthy hearts around the country!
Tara