From Tok, Alaska, to Miami, Florida, people are preparing to log their miles for the 100 Miles in May Challenge, an annual tradition supporting the Alaska-based Healthy Futures organization.
An Alaska youth-driven organization, Healthy Futures uses the month of May to model daily physical activity habits for entire families. Individuals log activity miles online and follow results on an overall leaderboard.
“It’s about being mindful, and making sure that we’re making a habit of being active,” said Harlow Robinson, executive director of Healthy Futures. “A fun way to do that is by giving yourself credit for the things you do everyday – in Alaska, that may be playing with your dog, fishing or clam digging – they all account for miles in the 100 Miles in May Challenge.”
With a database that includes everything from gardening to dog mushing, archery to drumming, activity time can be entered and calculated into miles.
“100 Miles in May is effective because it’s fun for the whole family and the office; it’s accessible with a wide-range of activity choices; and it keeps people accountable,” said Robinson. “Finding yourself on the leaderboard is a strong motivator, but we find individuals and teams come back every year because of the health benefits they found for themselves, and for many, the social aspect is really appealing. There’s something for everyone.”
The 100 Miles in May challenge started in 2013 as a competition among some local engineers, and now sees teams participate from around the world. Last year 426,580 miles were logged by more than 4,500 participants across 45 states and four countries. Activities are added each year, with giving birth and welding some of the more recent ones.
“Seriously, we award miles for coaching, firefighting, and playing Wii, there’s something for everyone,” said Robinson.
Registration is now open at Healthyfuturesak.org for individuals and teams. It’s free to participate, with donations, sponsorships and pledges benefiting Healthy Futures Alaska. In the first week of registration, Alaskans have signed up in the communities of Metlakatla, Kachemak City and Moose Creek in addition to urban centers of Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau.
A map of all participants is available online.
About Healthy Futures
Healthy Futures is the signature program of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The goal of the organization is to empower Alaska’s youth to build the habit of daily physical activity. The two core elements of the program are the Healthy Futures activity log (to develop the habit of daily physical activity) and event support (to increase youth attendance at community recreational events). More than 20,000 Alaskan youth from over 200 elementary schools statewide participate in the Healthy Futures Challenge. Over 100 events statewide receive support from Healthy Futures.
