Walk to Tuk had it’s best year ever in 2019 as participation in the territory increased by over 10% from the previous year. 4,835 people on 349 teams, from 30 NWT communities participated in the challenge.
209 of the participating teams made it all the way to Tuktoyaktuk which totalled a total of 1,658 kilometres, while 61 other teams made it back to Fort Providence. Together the 300 plus teams logged a grand total of 817,696 kilometres.
Sheena Tremblay, Director, Active Communities at the NWTRPA stated that the organization received stories from participants recounting the struggles and triumphs they encountered along the way, and the impact the challenge has made on their lives.
“It’s inspiring to hear that the challenge has had positive effects on the lives of so many. We have heard so many stories of how Walk to Tuk started someone on a path towards a healthier lifestyle, or helped them bond with their teammates, or revealed to them the beauty of their community in the wintertime.”
Jolene McDonald, team captain of team Gwıch’ın Nahtraahadaal noted that she loves Walk to Tuk and thinks it is an amazing initiative to get people outside in the cold winter months.
“It’s an opportunity to get people walking and talking in Gwıch’ın.”
According to the NWTRPA, each Walk to Tuk participant accumulated on average 232 minutes of weekly exercise, well above the 150 minutes recommended in the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. The participants together spent over 159,000 hours walking during January and February.
Walk to Tuk is the largest and longest physical activity event in the NWT. Over 22,200 participants have taken part in Walk to Tuk since the Challenge was started in 2010.
