Cary Medical sponsors step challenge

    CARIBOU — To motivate people to exercise, sometimes you need to add a little extra incentive. That’s the theory behind Cary Medical Center’s 96,100 Steps Challenge and it sure seemed to work considering participants walked nearly 35,000 miles!     In just its second year, participation in the walking contest more than doubled with 714 people stepping up to the challenge. Through a unique collaboration between Cary Medical Center, Citadel radio station Q96.1, and Wal-Mart, the 96,100 Steps Challenge was created to motivate people to improve their fitness level by increasing the number of steps they take every day. Upon registration, participants were given a free pedometer to wear for keeping track of their daily steps. Every time they reached the 96,100 steps mark throughout the 96 days of the contest, they were entered in a raffle for prizes that included an iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, barbecue grill, sports equipment, outdoor games, and a basketball package.
    “While prizes are a big part of the initial attraction to the program, once people start realizing the health benefits associated with the contest they become even more motivated to participate,” said Kim Jones, marketing and creative design coordinator at Cary Medical Center. According to Jones, several participants reported improved health and fitness by increasing their physical activity through walking and running. By the end of the contest on October 4, this year’s participants logged an incredible 76,400,000 steps or approximately 35,000 miles, the equivalent of walking across the United States more than 11 times.
    “While participating in the 96,100 Steps Challenge, I was motivated to walk more and ended up losing 15 pounds,” said Reta Greenier of New Sweden, who logged in more than 672,000 steps. “My niece participated with me and lost 17 pounds!”
    New contest features in 2007 included adding three age categories, child, teen, and adult, with separate prize incentives for each. Participants ranged in ages from 4 years to people in their mid-80s. According to Jones, this change attracted several more people to register for the contest for the first time.
    “We saw a definite increase in participation because this year the whole family was eligible for prizes. It’s very motivating to have everyone in the household from kids to grandparents exercising together and encouraging each other,” said Jones.
    In addition to new age categories, this year’s 96,100 Steps Challenge also included prizes for the highest stepping adult and highest stepping teen. “The title of highest stepper was a close race. In the end, 16 people had logged in over one million miles,” said Jones.
    96,100 Steps Challenge prize winners were: Kegan Dufour of Presque Isle, highest stepping adult (1,441,500 steps); Angela McDonald of Caribou, highest stepping teen (1,345,400 steps); Samuel Belanger of Caribou, grand prize raffle winner age 12 and under category; Zebadiah Johnson of New Sweden, grand prize raffle winner teen category; and Kitty Scott of Easton, grand prize raffle winner adult category.