One Million Steps and a Challenge Met

Tom K. took this year’s Wellness Walking Challenge to a new level, hitting 1 million-plus steps for the month of January.

If you’re doing the math, that’s the equivalent of 500 miles, all on foot, averaging about 17 miles a day. It takes the average person about an hour to walk three to four miles.

Tom’s family jokes that any month associated with the company’s walking challenge means if they want to see dad, they’ve got to rack up the miles with him. It’s not a huge stretch: His wife is a physical education teacher and a runner; his daughter is a long distance runner in high school and his son, a freshman in high school, runs and boxes.

But it still meant some serious miles to reach his goal. The T&D Supervior is not above bribery. His son wanted a Whataburger. OK. But he had to walk there with his dad. Six miles. If the kids want a Freddy’s Steakburger? That’s eight.

Tom has participated in three of the company’s walking challenges. In the first one, he recruited a team of supervisors in line construction to do it with him. It was a chance to motivate each other and build deeper connections.

With the pandemic this year, teams weren’t the best choice. He set an individual goal of reaching 1 million steps.

The second to last Sunday of the month, he did 50 mile.. As the duty supervisor that weekend, he learned a pole was hit at 1 a.m. He walked eight miles in the dark, bringing breakfast to the standby crew. A 12-mile walk followed, then a six mile run with his wife. In the late afternoon, another call out. He walked seven miles to check on the crew’s needs, coming back in at 8:40 p.m.

Hence, his uncontested spot at the top of the leader board for the month. He hit 1 million steps 23 days into the month.

“It’s just a competitiveness I have,” he said. “For me, trying to push yourself harder adds to the mental challenge and the fun of it.”

His advice for beginners?

“Just get started and get started today. You don’t need a big plan or even a whole assortment of workout gear. As anyone knows, beginning something new is the hardest part, but you’ll soon feel better and more energetic and you’ll be glad you did it.”