A Million Miles to Health is Just a Step Away
by Shanti Grossman, HealthCode
Moms everywhere are struggling to just get dinner on the table, and finding time to work out seems impossible. But the studies and statistics about how inactivity is killing us, literally killing us, sends chills down my spine. A gym membership may not be in your budget, and a 3 mile run may seem overwhelming, but a walk around the block is a great start to a healthier life.
Millions of people die each year from diseases like heart disease, diabetes, obesity and certain forms of cancer, that can, in many cases, be prevented. In the U.S. alone, $3 trillion a year is being spent on health care. 75% of these costs go toward treating preventable diseases, while only 3% is being spent on preventative initiatives and programs. If that isn’t scary enough, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. There has never been a more important time than RIGHT NOW to bring physical activity back into our family lives.
I am a work from home momma, with two very energetic toddlers, and it seems that every single minute is spoken for in my life. Between work, naps, errands, and the never ending meal and snack schedule, my day flies by.
In my pre-baby life I ran half-marathons and completed sprint triathlons. I loved that I had a event date to train for, and adored the sense of community that came along with these types of events. After my first baby was born my life went into a tailspin. Between breastfeeding every 2 hours, not sleeping, and trying to accomplish even the smallest of tasks, like running to the grocery store, the thought of actually getting back out there and training for another race...well that seemed downright impossible.
It was somewhere during those never ending middle of the night breastfeeding sessions that I had an idea, there needs to be a virtual fitness event that allowed participants to have that sense of community and support, while letting people workout whenever and where ever they choose. A place that provides a community that cheers you on through every milestone, no matter how big or small. An event that allowed pro-athletes and beginners work together in tandem to achieve a really big goal. Out came the idea of Million Mile Month.
Million Mile Month is a one month virtual fitness event that happens each April. We, at the non-profit HealthCode™, challenge the Million Mile Month community to complete one million miles of physical activity, together as one community, across one month (April each year). The program encourages people -- moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, kids and dogs -- to exercise and log their activity to track personal stats and contribute to the community wide goal of 1 million miles. During Million Mile Month 2015, 20,000+ participants from 13 countries logged over one million miles and 35 million minutes of activity. As we move into the 2016 event, we hope to reach over 30k+ participants and maybe, just maybe reach the 1.5 million or even 2 million mile mark!
Registration is open at http://millionmilemonth.org/. Registering for the event is ranges from FREE to $50, and each level comes with different race perks!
To make the event even more awesome, Million Mile Month has prizes like new shoes, a bike, gift cards, and fitness accessories, that are given away as a celebration when the community passes MILEstones like 100,000 miles, 200,000 miles, etc.
This April, I encourage you to join me and the Million Mile Month challenge. Now is a time to stand up against our nation’s health crisis and make a change for good. Register NOW!
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Shanti Grossman is the Marketing Director at the Texas based 501c3 HealthCode. Outside of work she is a wife and mother to two very energetic and silly toddlers. In her spare time she loves spending every moment possible outside enjoying the Texas sunshine