A walking challenge for Lancaster & Morecambe u3a

In celebration of National Walking Month, Pauline from Lancaster & Morecambe u3a reflects on a walking challenge her u3a took part in earlier this year.

A photo of Lancaster & Morecambe u3a's Nordic Walking group in 2020, 
photographed by Peter Alvey.

Earlier this year, Lancaster & Morecambe u3a undertook a Nordic Walking Challenge.

We opened the challenge to all of our members and set three potential targets: Gold (100 miles), Silver (75 miles) or Bronze (50 miles) which had to be completed in the month of January.

The aim was to engage in active walking. All miles must use ‘active steps’ - you cannot default to wandering around the shops in Lancaster!

This was a personal challenge but members were encouraged to share their personal milestones with friends. Our u3a has a Nordic Walking Facebook group, and members were not shy about posting their routes, progress and pictures with each other.

Even the awful weather during January didn’t distract people from the task. Many commented that the snow and ice meant that they lost a few days when walking at a decent pace would have been difficult. Some people on holiday during January were faced with a different dilemma with one of our walkers walking in temperature of 420C around the Botanical Gardens in Sydney. 

Some members excelled - especially the member with a dog - but all of those who completed the challenge said that it made them work really hard. Everybody agreed that the ‘active miles’ criteria added an extra dimension. 

We had a celebration lunch at the end of the month – a time to tell our stories and receive our gold medals!

It was a real success - and we have now just started our Get Stronger in Spring challenge.

We create hall of fame pictures showcasing everyone who completed the challenge - you can see these below.