Walk to Tuk 2020 might just be the way for you to start the new year off on the right foot. Community members, schools, and workplaces are encouraged to form teams and conceptually walk the length of the Big River, a distance of 1,658km from Fort Providence to Tuktoyaktuk.
Participants have from January 2nd to February 29th, 2020, to get their team to Tuktoyaktuk.
Walk to Tuk is an annual community walking challenge hosted by the NWT Recreation and Parks Association and 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of Walk to Tuk. The NWTRPA is celebrating this milestone birthday with the launch of a new website where teams can register now.
Jess Dunkin, Interim Executive Director of the NWTRPA stated that this made-in-the-NWT event is a great way for folks in the territory and beyond to stay active in the winter months.
“Walk to Tuk is the largest, longest, and most effective physical activity event in the NWT. Last year, each Walk to Tuk participant accumulated an average of 232 minutes of weekly exercise, which is well over the 150 minutes recommended in the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines.”
Weekly draw prizes, team captain prizes, and prizes for photos and stories are available to be won. The grand prize, open to all NWT participants, is a Canadian North flight pass.
Walking times and distances will be submitted via the new Walk to Tuk web app. Every second Monday, times or distances will be locked in for the previous period and made official on the map and team status pages on the new Walk to Tuk website. If teams make it to Tuk, they can double the challenge and try to make it back to Fort Providence as well.
In 2019, 4,835 people from 30 communities in the NWT participated in Walk to Tuk. 209 teams made it to Tuktoyaktuk, while an additional 61 teams made it back to Fort Providence. Walk to Tuk participants logged a grand total of 817,696 kilometres during January and February of 2019.
The deadline to register a team is January 16th, 2020. Walk to Tuk is the largest and longest physical activity event in the NWT as over 22,200 participants have taken part in Walk to Tuk since the Challenge was started in 2010.
