Walking during October in Australia can be beautiful. With the colourful sights and scents of spring flowers, it’s a great time to be outside enjoying the weather before it gets too hot.
Breathe in the fresh air and feel the sunshine on your skin this October with Walktober. On the website, you can join a community walking event in your local area or create your own.
Walking can be an enjoyable social activity for your workplace as you chat and learn new things about your work colleagues. The endorphins, or hormones that make you feel good, released within the first five minutes of exercise should have everyone feeling happier straight away.
It also improves your fitness as walking is a gentle, low-impact form of exercising. Walking also strengthens bones, improves balance and reduces the risk of long-term conditions such as type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.
Young or older, walk fast or slow, it’s great for people of most ages and abilities and all you need is a pair of walking shoes – or go barefoot at the beach!
The Walktober Challenge encourages you to set a walking target, which can be tracked via the MapMyFitness App, and ask friends and family to sponsor your efforts. All monies raised will help the Bluearth Foundation deliver active healthy programs for disadvantaged kids across Australia.
Each year, schools, businesses, cultural groups and organisations host Walktober walks for their communities.
There are many types of events you can hold. Here are a few ideas for your workplace from the team at Walktober:
- Encourage staff members to walk instead of drive, to use public transport and connect with places and people in the neighbourhood.
- Host a fund-raising event or a charity ‘walk-a-thon’ raising money for a local charity or funds for your own cause
- Invite an expert to come and talk about the garden, birds, wildlife, history or local architecture on your route.
- A Come and Try walk may help to judge interest in setting up a regular walking group.
- A twilight event will make the most of Daylight Savings, which kicked off in this month.