Steptember: How Tusker Got Moving for Irish Heart Month
A month on the move
Between 1st and 30th September, 25 Tusker colleagues logged 7,044,581 steps in support of Irish Heart Month.
Steptember started as a simple idea: get the whole company walking, and make it fun enough that people stick with it. It turned into a month of daily check-ins, friendly rivalry and some very creative ways of hitting a step count.
Why we did Steptember
Steptember was our way of backing Irish Heart Month with something the whole company could join in with.
Walking is one of the easiest ways to look after your heart, and a challenge turns it into a team effort. A walk at lunch, the school run or an evening stroll all counted, so everyone could take part whatever their day looked like.
How it worked
Colleagues signed up through a link, then logged their steps each day in a tracker we built for the challenge.
The tracker showed a live leaderboard and a running team total, so everyone could see how they and the company were doing. Daily steps were checked against screenshots sent in each week, which kept the standings fair.
We also shared weekly recaps on our social channels, with the leaderboard and photos from the people doing the walking. The top three steppers at the end of the month won prizes.
The Numbers
Niall McClave got first place, where he kept a hold of his lead from week one. Carmel Lennon landed in second place, like a dark horse who logged her steps in bulk, not daily, keeping everyone guessing. And third place went to Susan McCabe who was a strong competitor from the get go.
Together we walked 7,044,581 steps, roughly 5,000 km at an average stride, which is about the distance from Dublin to New York.
Behind the steps
The photos sent in for our weekly recaps showed just how many places the steps came from.
There were rainbows over the pitch, wet-weather commutes, cows blocking the road, a treadmill session supervised by a dog, airport terminals and even a Westlife gig. Coastal paths, forest trails and sunrise walks all featured too, along with plenty of four-legged walking partners.
What it did for the team
Steptember got colleagues across the company talking, comparing numbers and encouraging each other every day.
Thank you
Congratulations to Niall, Susan and Carmel, and thank you to all 25 colleagues who laced up for Irish Heart Month.
Steptember is over, but the walking does not have to be.
