Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days…Again
"Good for your soul," mayor insists, launching 4th annual walking challenge.
4th annual Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days Challenge. Photo by Amanda Maniscalco.
Mayor Tom Barrett kicked off his 4th annual Walk 100 Miles in 100 Days Challenge yesterday, encouraging Milwaukee residents and families to lead healthier, more active life styles.
People began filtering into City Hall around 11:30 a.m. — families with children, business people on their lunch, friends coming together, all to reach the same goal — to live a healthier life.
In the City Hall rotunda, tables were set up to offer bottles of water and green canteen water bottles, along with chewy granola bars and ripe bananas, promoting the healthy choices lifestyle. Also on one of the tables was information on the Walk 100 Challenge, what it’s trying to accomplish, and how you can participate.
Warm up. Photo by Amanda Maniscalco.
Upbeat music meant to get you moving played in the background as organizers handed out raffle tickets. Suddenly the music got louder, and a woman on stage told the crowd to get closer. Once everyone was walking in place, they were instructed to pick their knees up, then squats, then slides, then foot kick-backs, back to walking in place. That was the warm up.
While everyone was still catching their breathe, the raffle began. They gave away a one-year family membership to the Urban Ecology Center, a three-month complimentary membership to the Wisconsin Athletic Club, a six-month membership to Planet Fitness, a set of four Brewers tickets, 10 pairs of tickets to Summerfest, and a Fitbit.
Anyone who participates in the Walk 100 Challenge can track their progress using the program’s web application. and will also have a chance to win various prizes by hitting certain benchmarks over the course of the 100 days.
Additionally, anyone who completes the 100 mile goal at the end of the 100th day will be eligible for the program’s prize drawing on September 8, 2017.
After the raffle, Barrett walked onto the stage, and explained how this walk tries to get the community out, to see the beautiful city and give us the chance to talk with each other. “It’s 100 days, 100 miles, it’s good for your health, it’s good for your soul, it’s good for your disposition, and you can make a lot of new friends doing it,” he said.
Tom Barrett. Photo by Amanda Maniscalco.
“What I love about this, is I get to every single neighborhood in the city and walk with people in every single neighborhood. And what I find in every single neighborhood, is people who love their children, who care about their parents, and who want to make sure they can support their families.”
He reiterated to the crowd, that no matter what people hear or see in the news, “there are really good people in every neighborhood in Milwaukee.”
The Walk 100’s efforts to increase physical activity compliments the Milwaukee Health Department’s work in combating obesity. Milwaukee’s obesity rates are higher than the state and national averages while less than half of Milwaukee residents report they get the recommended amount of physical activity on a regular basis.
But if the mayor has his way, his constituents will be getting a lot more exercise in the next 100 days. And so, Barrett stepped off stage, headed to the back of the crowd, and led them out the doors to Wells Street where he continued his Walk 100 Challenge to the Milwaukee Riverwalk.
Photos from the Event
