Teams on an “amazing race” to Rainy River

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Did you know that it is approximately 2,370,000 steps from Rainy River’s end of Yonge Street to the far end in Toronto?
Well 11 teams of ten people set out in Toronto on March 5th to prove that. They are staff members at national office of the Canadian Cancer Society in Toronto.
Lalanie Lacuesta, Jr. Policy Analyst in the Cancer Control Policy and Information Dept., told the Record Monday that they came up with the idea for a walk to Rainy River at a health promotion workshop last year. “Being true to our Toronto roots we decided to walk Yonge St. from Toronto to Rainy River.”
However, they decided to do what they are calling a “virtual walk.” They are not actually walking to Rainy River, they instead equipped every team member with a pedometer to track the number of steps they take every day. Surprisingly most people take about 10,000 steps per day on average. “We have had some team members do as many as 20,000 in a day!” said Lacuesta.
Lacuesta said 10,000 steps takes about 1.5 hours of walking per day and is equal to 8 km. “We take their steps and convert them to kilometres and track their progress on a giant map in our office.”
While no one has reached Rainy River yet, there are rumours around their office building that two or three are very close. Some of the team names include Arch Rivals, The Go-gos, The Pedominators, The Nancy Sinatras, The Gait Keepers and The Ramblers.
This activity is not being done to raise money or awareness about cancer or the society. “I am a member of a volunteer health promotion committee that challenged the staff to the race,” said Lacuesta. While walking is generally accepted as a good form of exercise for people it does not directly prevent cancer.
“However, we like to promote healthy living. Living healthy does help prevent cancer,” said Lacuesta.
The teams have really taken the concept to heart and have been walking up a storm. While it is not a money maker or an awareness campaign, the first year or “pilot project” as Lacuesta called it, could turn into more. “We will discuss it after it is over and see if we can do more with it, perhaps on a national level.”
The winning team will receive one paid day off some time this summer and a picnic. There are also several prizes for individual achievement.
Watch the Record for the final results in the next week or two.