One Million Steps...and Then Some

by Conroy

Conroy on top of Uncompahgre - the symbolic peak of the challenge

Back in April I wrote about a challenge I had set for myself: take one million steps over the course of one hundred days; an average of 10,000 steps a day, the equivalent of just under five walking miles a day. On May 1, armed with a pedometer and a determined spirit, I stepped out.

I walked, I hiked, I ran, I even climbed a mountain, and slogged through a river of mud. I was dedicated to reaching the goal, and I achieved it - with ease. I took my 1,000,000th step on Day 60 (June 29), 40 days ahead of schedule. When Day 100 (August 8) - and the challenge - was over, I had taken 1,766,074 steps (give or take a few). That's equivalent to walking nearly 840 miles, or the distance from my home in Baltimore to Jefferson City, right in the heart of Missouri.

I started this effort because I feel that challenges like this are a great way to promote personal fitness, and keep a person interested and motivated in physical activity. I still agree with that, but I had a few other interesting insights along the way:

10,000 Steps and More - after the first few days it became clear that amassing 10,000 steps a day (however I went about it) was not a great challenge. An average walking pace will yield about 100 steps a minute, running about 150 steps per minute. So 10,000 steps takes more than an hour but less than two of concentrated effort. Even a routine day, no extra workouts, will yield several thousand steps, so I didn't find it to hard to carve time out of my day for the extra steps needed to get to 10,000. Lunchtime walks, weekend hikes, my normal running schedule would get the job done. After ten days I was averaging well over 11,000 steps a day. So I set myself to go farther. Could I average 15,000 steps a day? How about 20,000? Here's my average for each ten day increment:

One Million Steps

by Conroy

I'm declaring my intention to take 1,000,000 steps over the next 100 days. That's an average of 10,000 steps per day, which is just under five miles of walking or more than eight miles of running (your running stride is longer than you walking stride). This is a daunting challenge. To achieve it I'll have to cover well over 500 miles on foot, more than 35 miles per week. Why do this? Well before I explain that, let's consider personal fitness.

Fitness is Work

It seems every other television commercial and website advertisement has something to do with fitness. Whether that be dieting, weight loss techniques, or some novel exercise regime. Perhaps in an America obsessed with weight, this is natural. Obesity is an epidemic problem in the United States, with over 74% of adults being classified as overweight - easily the highest percentage of any Western nation. The increase in obesity, in America and other developed nations, is a result of numerous behaviors, from less active lifestyles to increased caloric intake. Regardless of the cause, obesity is a major public health concern. It is my adamant belief that this doesn't need to be so.

There’s an awful lot of public discourse about how to treat obesity. You can read stories about city councils banning trans-fats from restaurants to school boards dictating allowed foods for school lunches. These approaches won’t make one bit of difference. No, reducing obesity and improving physical fitness, like all major personal changes, comes from within each individual.

With diligence I think most people can adopt a lifestyle that leads to a manageable healthy weight and a strong, fit body. I'm not a dietitian or personal trainer, but I have set physical fitness as a personal priority and I've gained a few insights over the years.