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Monash's winning walkers

16 November 2005

The efforts of 84 Monash teams, who 'walked' from Queensland to Tasmania as part of a university-wide fitness challenge, have been rewarded.

Professor Rob Willis (second from left) congratulates the Fiery Footnotes team, from left: Ms Shelley McCormick, Mr Peter Lausch, Ms Hui-Hsing Lin and Ms Samaya Sukha.

The teams of staff, relatives and friends from all Victorian campuses aimed to walk the equivalent road distance of Port Douglas to Hobart by each walking 10,000 steps a day in the 10,000 Steps Challenge.

Mr Paul Barton, manager of Occupational Health, Safety and Environment, said he was delighted by the commitment of the 10-person teams during the walk from 25 September to 30 October.

Many teams exceeded the steps required to reach their goal. The best performers overall were the Fiery Footnotes from the Caulfield campus library with a total of 8,094,391 steps.

The best Clayton team was the Quantum Leapers with 4,973,869 steps; and the best individual walker, with 1,278,660 steps, was Ms Amy Noble, who joined the Clayton Steppers as a friend of Ms Georgiana Godfrey of Green Chemistry.

The best teams at all other campuses were: the Berwick Boomers with 3,817,078 steps; Peninsula Admin with 4,097,294 steps, Walking Feat of Gippsland with 4,968,895 steps, These Boots are Made for Walking of Parkville with 4,120,804, Twinkle Toes from Monash Bendigo with 4,610,161 and the Epistars Alfred of The Alfred hospital with 2,707,514 steps.

The 10,000 Steps Challenge launched the university-wide program WHAM (Wellbeing Happens at Monash) that aims to promote physical and mental wellbeing for staff and students through exercise.

Further WHAM activities are planned, and more information is available from the OHSE website.