An NHS diabetes team working across Darlington, Durham and Sedgefield have taken on the One Million Step Challenge for us here at Diabetes UK.
It takes at least 10,000 steps a day to reach one million in three months but the team-of-eight have walked all over the target with nearly five and a half million steps under their belt, to raise money for us.
The challenge, which took place between 1 July and 30 September, invited people to push themselves out of their comfort zone, by taking one million steps over three months and getting sponsored for every stride.
Gemma Handley, 36, a Diabetes Systems Manager, who leads the team and is based in Sedgefield, said: “We do a lot of work in the local area to support people living with the condition and also with those at risk of Type 2 diabetes to make changes to their lifestyle. It’s a message that, as a team, we also try to take on board, so the One Million Steps challenge was the perfect activity for us to do this together and raise some funds for Diabetes UK.”
The group have reached their goal through a variety of activities including a dance class at a team development day, ‘walking meetings’ and some team members taking part in the Great North Run.
Gemma added: ‘There’s a mix of abilities on the team but we’ve all been determined to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. The One Million Steps challenge is great because you don’t have to be super fit to get involved. We’ve really enjoyed the challenge, it’s been a great team effort to reach over 5 and a half million steps.”
