Staff report
The 10th annual Homer Steps Up community walking challenge begins May 4 to the end of the month. Coordinated by South Peninsula Hospital (SPH), the yearly challenge was developed as a fun, interactive way to help improve overall health through movement.
Registration is open now and throughout May. Last year, 667 individuals across 68 teams participated, logging 177,128,943 steps as a community.
Through a grant from South Peninsula Hospital Foundation, individual walkers who reach a minimum of 7,500 daily steps will be entered to win weekly Homer Bucks. At the end of May, teams of five or more will be ranked based on the average of their members’ steps, not the total sum. The top three teams can designate cash donations to a local non-profit of their choice.
Walkers can sync their smartphones or wearable fitness trackers for easy tracking or manually upload steps from a pedometer.
As part of the Homer Steps Up Challenge, SPH is sponsoring free weekly indoor walks at the SPARC (South Peninsula Athletic and Recreation Center) on Mondays, 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., through June. Now through May, a Homer Steps Up registration and help desk are available, as well as free blood pressure screenings.
Numerous community events throughout May can help walkers get their steps in:
— Kachemak Bay Running Club meets 6 p.m., Wednesdays, at Bishops Beach for a weekly run/walk.
— The Mother’s Day 5K Migration Run, sponsored by the Kachemak Bay Running Club, starts at 10 a.m., May 10, from the Homer Spit Fishing Lagoon.
— South Peninsula Behavioral Health Services’ Town-lap Walk-a-thon to raise funds for a teen community resource center starts at 6 p.m., May 28, at the Kachemak Bay Campus.
— Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic’s satellite Alaska Run for Women event is May 30.
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