Walk Kansas 2022 promotes physical activity and brain health

For the past 20 years, thousands of people enrolled in the Walk Kansas program have walked, biked, swam and moved their bodies in many other ways to improve their physical fitness. Exercise is beneficial not only for our physical health, but also our mental health and our brain.

Walk Kansas 2022 will run March 27 through May 21, encouraging teams of six to sign up together and get moving. Each 15 minutes of activity counts for 1 mile of distance, and teams track their mileage virtually as they move across pre-determined routes in or across Kansas.

For a lot of people, walking is something they can do. For others, it might be riding a bike, rowing, swimming or other water exercise, strength training, playing tennis or pickleball and other team sports, or even rolling, if you’re in a wheelchair. We call it Walk Kansas, but in reality, anything counts as long as you’re working at a moderate or vigorous intensity level.

Registration for Walk Kansas is available online at http://www.walk kansas.org or in person at any local extension office. If you live in Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, or Smith counties, you will choose “Post Rock District” when registering online. The cost is $10 per person; a program t-shirt can be purchased separately. Registration opened March 7.

This year’s program offers one solo challenge and three team challenges:

• Challenge 1 - “8 Wonders of Kansas” trail, requires each person get at least 2 _ hours of moderate activity per week and challenges the team to travel 480 miles.

• Challenge 2 – “Cross Country Trail” requiring 4 hours of activity per week from each person, with the team traveling 768 miles.

• Challenge 3 – “Little Balkans to Nicodemus Trail” that will require 6 hours of activity from each team member per week, challenging the team to go 1152 miles.

• The solo challenge trail begins in Manhattan at Kansas State University and explores points of interest on a trail to Wichita State University.

All participants will receive a weekly online newsletter with helpful information on physical activity, improving lifestyle habits, nutrition and healthful recipes. This year, the nutrition focus is on the MIND diet, which is a combination of what are widely known as the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets. Physical activity on its own is something that helps us retain our brain function as we age and helps delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It can help manage stress, which is hard on our mind, as well.

Contact Ashley at [email protected] or by calling 785-524-4432.