There and back again
The numbers are in—Sanford Lab exceeded the goal for the Walk the Beamline walking challenge by nearly 1,400 miles.
The Three-Legged Dogs took first place in Sanford Lab’s first-ever walking challenge.
The facility-wide goal of Sanford Lab’s Walk the Beamline competition was to “walk” from Sanford Lab to Fermilab, along the future LBNF/DUNE neutrino beamline. Round trip, the subterranean journey is 1,600 miles. With over eighty researchers and employees contributing to the six-week challenge, Sanford Lab exceeded the goal, ending the friendly competition with a total of 39,548,401 steps—roughly 2,996 miles!
This walking challenge promoted better mental well-being, increased bone density, triggered endorphins, lowered risk for heart disease, decreased blood pressure and could have aided weight loss and increased muscle tone.
“I’d like to recognize and thank our Environment, Safety and Health team for creating this wonderful opportunity to promote health and wellness at Sanford Lab,” said Mike Headley, executive director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA). “It was great to see more than 75 percent of the Sanford Lab team exercising more and sharing in the comradery of this fun challenge.”
Along the way, friendly competition encouraged more steps. Now, the tallies are in:
Team with the most steps: The Three-Legged Dogs totaled 4,381,891 steps (332 miles). Nice work Curtis Jones, Rodney Hanson, Eli Atkinson, Frank Gabel and Jay Wilczynski!
Individual with the most steps: Education and Outreach’s Ben Sayler finished strong with 1,436,086 steps (109 miles)!
The best team name: By vote of participants, the best team name was decided: “Make Safety Great Again.”
Winners will receive a gift card to be presented at the next All Hands Meeting on Friday, October 19.
“I’m incredibly pleased with the participation rate from our Sanford Lab team,” said Larry Jaudon, director of the Environment, Health and Safety department. “Every place I visited onsite, whether underground or on the surface, personnel were excited about the Walk The Beam competition. They were encouraging to other teams, yet at the same time, it was great ‘talking smack’ to everybody. And to the Three-Legged Dogs, we’re coming after you in the next challenge!”
What ideas do you have for the next Sanford Lab health challenge? Email your ideas to Laura Baatz, Sanford Lab’s occupational nurse, at LBaatz@SanfordLab.org. All health initiative ideas will be collected and distributed for a vote.
Don’t stop walking just because this challenge has ended. Keep challenging yourself to get 10,000 steps or more a day!