Like most of us, EIT Career Express coordinator Sheryl Smith doesn’t always find it easy slotting exercise into winter’s shorter, colder days.

This year, however, she’s feeling very motivated about clocking up the miles – running and taking part in exercise programmes – to build up her daily step average for the Global Corporate Challenge.

Sheryl is in one of seven EIT teams entered in the worldwide corporate health initiative, a pedometer-based walking challenge in which teams of employees, entered by businesses, engage in a virtual walk around the world.

It’s the first time EIT has entered the challenge, and Louise Bevin, organising the event for the institute, says she’s been very impressed with the response.

“We have many health-aware staff who are already busy working on their fitness, so I thought we might be lucky to get one or two teams entered.”

In fact, says Louise, EIT’s teams encompass a wide range of fitness levels.  “We have one woman, for example, who is now walking both ways between Tamatea and EIT every day.”

Three weeks into the 16-week programme, Sheryl’s team is in the lead.  Having set off from Milford Sound, the Batmobiles have amassed enough steps to have reached Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan in Central Asia. 

Like others taking part in the challenge, Sheryl checks her pedometer every morning and records her daily step count online.  She admits to being “competitive within EIT”.  Now, having seen that her average is lower than her team’s, she is aiming to increase her walking over the next few months.   

Odds are that Sheryl’s motivation will remain high.  Independent research undertaken by the University of Lancaster showed that 94.3 percent of more than 1000 participants taking part in last year’s challenge planned to maintain the same level of activity after finishing the event.