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This year’s Challenge drew a record number of participating teams—144 in 2016 versus 122 in 2015—and included employers and employees from across the county. Walkers also set a new record in 2016—logging 145,634,955 steps—an additional 22 million steps over last year’s total.
To put this year’s record in context, the 720 participants in the Challenge walked a total of 72,817 miles, 101 miles per participant, or the equivalent of going around the earth 2.92 times.
“This year’s program was extremely successful with more people joining in and more steps being walked,” said White Plains Hospital Orthopedic Surgeon Daniel Markowicz, MD, the program’s Physician Champion. “Walking is a fitness activity that’s accessible to everyone, and programs like this help us make real strides in improving our overall health.”
This year’s top three Ex-Step- tional Challenge finishers were:
- First Place: “Divide by Zero” logged 2,348,006 steps (1,174 miles)—City of White Plains DPW Engineering
- Second Place: “Walking Warriors” 2,291,314 steps (1,145 miles)—Church Street School
- Third Place: “The Foxy Trotters” 2,266,775 steps (1,133 miles)—Church Street School
The Ex-STEP- tional Walking Challenge ran from May 2 through May 26. Employers across Westchester formed five-member employee teams to compete, and team members were given free pedometers by White Plains Hospital to log steps. Other participants included teams helmed by Mayor Thomas Roach, Assemblyman David Buchwald, and State Senator Terrence Murphy. Many area corporations and organizations fielded multiple teams, such as Volunteer New York, People’s United Bank, Simon Mall, We Suite, Meridian Capital, City of White Plains, The Journal News, and Arch Capital Group.
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