Health of the Nation 2024: Walk your way to better health with a school walkathon

Imagine being able to walk halfway around Australia as a kid … well, this year you can do just that.

Kids News is calling on all schools to host a walkathon* in May to see if Aussie schoolchildren can work together and virtually* walk the distance from at least Adelaide to Brisbane.

That’s about 2500km if you walked via* Melbourne and Sydney, which is a REALLY long way.

But if enough schools pitch in and every student puts one foot in front of the other, it’s absolutely possible.

It’s part of Kids News’ Health of the Nation campaign, which aims to get Australian kids moving in 2024 and thinking about ways to improve their health.

One of Australia’s best-known fitness trainers, Sam Wood, is an ambassador* for the campaign and wishes he could see more children walking each day.

He believes kids who walk regularly in their childhood — whether to school each day, or around the park with the family dog, or along the beach at weekends — are setting themselves up for an active adulthood where walking becomes an automatic part of their daily routine.

“Walking is so underrated*,” Wood said. “People think it doesn’t make you fit, but they’re wrong. If you are looking for something you can do anytime, anywhere and get consistency*, just get out and get yourself walking.

“It doesn’t have to be fast, it doesn’t have to be for that long, the great thing about walking is whether you do a 60-minute walk or six 10-minute walks throughout the day, you get the same benefits.”

Wood worries about the number of kids who sit all day at school or watching screens at home and don’t realise the health benefits of going for a stroll.

“It’s great for our heart, great for our muscles, great for our bones and guess what else it’s great for … our mental health,” he said.

HOW TO HOST A SCHOOL WALKATHON
1. Organise a date for the walkathon, which can be held on any school day until the end of May 2024.

2. Identify a short circuit* of approximately 500m to 1km either within your school grounds or near your school (for example, a circuit around the block your school is located on or a nearby public park).

3. To measure the distance each student covers on the day, provide each pupil with a small card to carry. Teachers can use either a hole-punch or stamp or write their initials to mark the card each time a lap is completed.

3. Set aside a morning to host the walkathon. You will need at least 3-4 hours if the whole school takes part and it’s best to avoid any afternoon sun.

4. You may consider having older grades start first and walk further, then have the younger students join later so the whole school can walk together for a portion of the walkathon.

5. Have a water station set aside where kids can place their water bottle and access it multiple times if necessary during the circuit.

6. Identify a finish line and finish time and have staff sound a school bell to indicate when the walkathon finishes.

7. Consider adding these elements to enhance the day:

• Have students dress up with a theme (Olympics, favourite sports player or team uniform, super heroes etc)
• Invite parents to join the walk and/or be course marshals
• Add some fun or challenges during the course of the walkathon to keep the kids engaged (e.g. walk backwards, walk linking arms with a student from another year level etc)
• Provide school level certificates such as longest distance covered, best school spirit, brightest costume)
• Add music and an MC to boost excitement on the day.

WHAT STUDENTS WILL NEED

• Sports uniform with sneakers
• Water bottle
• Snack to eat when finished
• Optional costumes

SHARE YOUR RESULTS WITH KIDS NEWS
Once you have completed your walkathon, Kids News would love to hear all about it so we can plot your distance covered on our Walkathon Map of Australia.

Send an email to our Schoolyard Shoutout section and tell us:
1.  School name, address, email and teacher contact details.
2. How far in kilometres your students walked overall
3. How many students took part and from what year levels.
4. Describe all the colour and fun of the walkathon in 250 words or less. Please include two hi-res pictures and, if you wish, a short video.

You can find the full submission guidelines for Schoolyard Shoutout at https://www.kidsnews.com.au/schoolyard-shoutout

POLL

GLOSSARY

• walkathon: a community event where participants walk a predetermined distance either for fun or to raise money
• virtually: not being real
• via: by the way of
• ambassador: someone who represents a group or organisation
• underrated: failing to understand how important or valuable something is
• consistency: always happening in a similar way
• circuit: a loop or exercise route

QUICK QUIZ
1. How far is it from Adelaide to Brisbane via Melbourne and Sydney?
2. Who is Sam Wood?
3. Name 3 benefits of walking.
4. Do you have to walk fast to be healthy?
5. What is the Health of the Nation campaign?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Kids News has produced a free Health of the Nation education workbook full of classroom activities to support the information and expert advice in this series.
It has been crafted by one of our expert Kids News teachers and complements the information in these education kit articles.

Sign up to the free Kids News weekly newsletter HERE to access the education workbook plus more news and initiatives.

EXTRA READING
Part 9: The lowdown on smoking and vaping
(Note: Red Level content, suitable for secondary school students)