Virtual Tour of Texas Offices Motivates Competitors Towards Healthier Lifestyle
On January 1, 17 Freese and Nichols employees, from various departments, embarked on a unique fitness challenge: a 2,073.1-mile virtual tour of Freese and Nichols’ Texas office locations. The aim was to promote healthier lifestyles through increased physical activity and friendly competition.
Walking distances between each of the 13 Texas offices were plotted on a spreadsheet and the race commenced with all participants starting at Freese and Nichols’ headquarters in Fort Worth. Miles were logged by individuals after each fitness activity such as walking, running, cycling, swimming and kayaking. Logged miles propelled participants to the first stop in Denton. From there, the circuit wound through Frisco, Dallas, Houston, Pearland, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, San Marcos, Austin, Midland, El Paso, Lubbock and back to Fort Worth. Bonus miles were granted for those who chose activities such as yoga, weightlifting and for mileage achievements in excess of 10,000 steps in a day.
On Sept. 26, Linda Campbell, Marketing, Fort Worth, was the first competitor to cross the virtual finish line. As a prize, she received a State of Texas mug planted with succulents. A day later, Mary Martin, Marketing, Fort Worth, also finished the challenge.
“Thanks to Mary’s challenge, I’m in better shape now than when we started in January,” Linda said. “Alas, my competitiveness kicked into high gear. And now, I’m trying to keep going to Baton Rouge.”
“When we started, I wasn’t sure if we could finish in a year’s time,” said Mary. “But having the year-end goal helped me to stay disciplined in achieving smaller weekly goals. It was motivating to follow the progress of others and try to keep up with them.”
Several other participants are close to the halfway point or beyond. Whether they finish in 2019 or choose to keep going in 2020, the challenge can be declared a success with more than 9,200 overall miles logged in by all participants so far.