EmBARK on a movement challenge against your fellow Huskies and start the quarter strong! This spring quarter, head outside, get some movement in your day, and enjoy the sunshine with your pack! Embracing the spirit of resilience, unity, and perseverance, UW LiveWell’s Peer Health Educators are excited to introduce the 2024 Great Husky Race. 

The Second Great Husky Race (est. 2021) is upon us! In this sequel, we will take an expedition throughout the Pacific Northwest (race “route” below). The goal is to have teams of up to four combine their daily miles to make it all the way from Spokane, through Seattle, and to the coastline. During this race, foster a sense of community at UW with your team and other participating Huskies, and learn some tips and tricks for nurturing your health and well-being!

What is the Great Husky Race?

  • The Great Husky Race is a team contest of movement! 
  • You can walk, jog, run, wheelchair, or skip to get your movement tracked by the  device of your choice (watch, phone app, etc.). 
  • Each week you will submit how many miles you walked/ran/wheelchaired. Then a designated Peer Health Educator will add up the miles your Husky team traveled, so that weekly totals and progress of your team can be announced. 
    • For iPhones, we recommend using the built-in “health app” to track your miles. For more information about how to track your miles, read this.
  • In addition, we will offer optional, in-person “Weekly Checkpoints” for Huskies to socialize within and across teams and foster a sense of community (Thursday afternoon/evenings).
    • Checkpoints include fitness classes, creative outlets, friendly team competitions, and more!

What is the route?

To finish the whole route (558 miles) by the end of the race, each member of a team of four will have to move at least 5 miles/day. For a team of three, each member will have to move at least 6.5 miles/day.

Marker 1: Leavenworth: 193 miles

Marker 2: Seattle: 327 miles

Marker 3: Tacoma: 361 miles

Marker 4: Olympia: 391 miles

Marker 5: Forks: 543 miles

Marker 6: La Push: 558 miles

Bonus Challenge: Finish in Seattle! +231 miles after La Push = 764 miles total

How do I participate? 

If you are interested in participating but do not have a team, you can still participate and we will assign you to a team with other people who also register individually. If you are interested in registering with a team (of up to four members), only one person needs to fill out the form and will be the point of contact for the race. Fill out the registration form here (UW net-id access only)!

Every week, 

  • Your assigned PHE will send you a link to submit your proof of weekly movement
  • We will release an email update of where teams are in their progress and information about upcoming Weekly Checkpoint events

How to track your miles

The Great Husky Race Milage “Cheat Sheet”

There are a variety of apps you can use to track your movement! For starters, the Health app on iPhones automatically logs all your movement throughout the day, so for a low-stress way of tracking your mileage, this is your best bet. 

Instructions of how to set up iPhone mileage tracking:

  1. Open the health app and go to the summary page.
  2. Click “edit” in the top right hand corner.
  3. Click the star next to “Walking + Running Distance”, under the activity category.
  4. That’s it! Keep track of your daily/weekly miles and let your designated Peer Health Educator know your weekly total at the end of the week!

Alternatively, you could install an app to record your physical activity manually, including:

  1. Strava
  2. Nike Run Club
  3. MapMyRun
  4. Zombies, Run

Why is movement so important for our health?

Time and time again it has been proven that one of the best things to do for your mental and physical health is to move your body. According to the CDC in 2018, less than 30% of Americans 18-24 meet the minimum recommendation of 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity. For Americans 18 and older, less than 25% reached that minimum. This is a major health problem, because healthy physical activity has positive effects on our mental and physical well being. The leading cause of death in the United States is Heart Disease and is directly correlated with increased rates of physical inactivity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. In fact, around 80% of premature deaths from heart disease are preventable from having regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and reduced tobacco use. On top of that, movement and belonging has been shown to be two of the most effective ways to manage anxiety, depression, stress, and loneliness. By moving our bodies and engaging with others in our pack, we can take care of our bodies and minds. Let’s put on our hiking boots, crocs, or slippers, tie our shoes, and get ready to race!

Questions

Please contact lwpeer@uw.edu if you have any questions or concerns.