The “Your Towpath to Healthy Living Challenge” has ended, but there are many opportunities for you to continue walking, with your team or individually. One excellent resource is the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program: http://www.presidentschallenge.org/. Individuals can sign up under the “Adult” link, and teams can continue to walk together by signing up as a “Group” (after you get your Group Number, make sure you log in with it every time in order to have it count for your team). Any type of physical activity is allowed, and you can earn awards! If you need help signing up, please call this number: (800) 258-8146. Start now to get ready for the National Challenge next spring, where states will be competing! Remember, those participants who have completed at least 37 individual miles during the Healthy Towpath Challenge can stop by the Georgetown Business Improvement District (GBID) office and pick up a water bottle, as well as a copy of the “C&O Canal Companion”, a book by Mike High. Team and individual award winners can also pick up their gift certificates during this time (M-F from 9-5; located at 1055 Thomas Jefferson St., Suite L-11; 202-298-9222). Finally, we REALLY need your help--please click on the survey link and fill out the survey (If you experience problems with the first page of the survey loading, please click the refresh button on your web browser to reload the page). This is a second survey, so even if you filled out the first survey, we still really need your participation for this one too. We will be giving a $25 gift certificate to one lucky survey respondent drawn at random!

"Congratulations to Heidi Nielsen from team GWalk!!! From those participants who filled out the pre-survey, she was the lucky winner drawn at random to receive a $25 gift certificate to the Patagonia Store."

In 1954, Justice William O. Douglas wrote of a refuge, a place of quiet and peace at the capital’s back door. Running into the heart of Georgetown, perhaps right by your office or home, is one of the nation’s best-loved national parks, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park.

Over three million visitors a year have discovered that this strip of history and nature is the perfect place to run, walk, or bicycle. As the weather cools and the leaves turn, why not get outside during lunch, after, or even before work, and see for yourself?

The C & O Canal National Historical Park, the Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID), and the C&O Canal Trust have joined forces to offer for you an exciting way to make walking a part of your lifestyle. Designed to increase healthy living activities, the focus is on encouraging people who work and live in the Georgetown area to walk at least 30 minutes a day, leading to healthier and more productive employees. Walking the towpath is fun and convenient way to introduce physical activity into your busy schedule. There is no cost to participate! people at walk

The Program:

This program challenges 5-member teams (or individuals) to walk a total of 185 miles in 7 weeks on the C&O Canal NHP’s towpath (30 minutes of walking equals 1.5 miles). Why 185 miles? The C&O Canal NHP actually runs 185 miles from Georgetown all the way to Cumberland, MD. If your team walks 185 miles in the next seven weeks, you can say you walked the entire Canal!

As you may know, participation in outdoor recreation, like walking, provides a range of benefits: mental and spiritual well-being, increased self-esteem, boosted energy levels, an appreciation for the natural and cultural environment, and many other physical health benefits.

How It Works:

Form a team of five members (or less), pick a fun name for your team, and have each member register here. Teams can be formed based on your workplace. Individuals are also welcome to join (it will just be a little harder to make the 185 miles)! But the goal is to walk 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days per week.
Log-on to this website and record your minutes walked or your mileage. We recommend you do this at least once a week. Feel free to download the mileage worksheet to keep by your desk, and then upload the information later.
You can also use this site to calculate your total walking distance, and see how your team is doing compared to other teams.
There is also a virtual trail that will show you how far you’ve walked along the Canal, and highlight some of the sights you would see at those mile markers once you log in to your account.
A variety of prizes will be awarded—most miles walked by a five-person team, highest average miles walked by a team (to make sure everyone is walking!), most miles walked by an individual, and so on.

The Walking Program is a seven-week program running from September 15-November 3, 2007. Therefore, please begin logging your miles on September 15. You are invited to join us for a Celebratory Kick-off event on Friday, September 14, 2007, from 12-2pm. The event will take place at the C&O Canal National Historical Park Visitor Center, located in Georgetown at 1057 Thomas Jefferson Street. They’ll be healthy refreshments, more information about the program and how to make walking a part of your life, a registration booth (if you want to wait until then), and a motivating guest speaker!

For more information, please contact us. We look forward to seeing you on the Canal!

The National Park Service conveys health benefits to the American public by providing places for healthful, physically active recreation in the great outdoors.