GREENFIELD — Strap on your Fitbit or download your step-tracking smartphone application: the Greenfield YMCA’s Health Challenge is back for another year.

The YMCA will launch the event on May 10. The six-week-long challenge will see teams of up to five friends, family members or co-workers push each other to reach daily activity goals. The top bar is to take 10,000 steps per team member, per day.

To join, each team must pay a $15 per member fee to the YMCA, either in person or by phone with a credit card. Then, each team will need to register and pick a name on walkfranklincounty.org.

The step counts that are recorded each week will need to come from a pedometer, such as a Fitbit, FuelBand or other form of step-tracking technology, according to Jayne Trosin, the organization’s fitness and social responsibility director. Steps must be logged weekly, no later than 6 p.m. on Monday.

Prizes will be awarded for the team with the most “team spirit,” as well as the first-, second- and third-place finishers. Another award will be given to the team that logs the most Walk Franklin County site walks and posts photos of themselves at a known landmark to the YMCA’s Facebook page.

Those routes can be found on the Walk Franklin County website.

The event will coincide with an internal challenge for the YMCA staff to encourage more exercise.

Last year, 22 teams logged over 50 million steps all together, according to YMCA Executive Director Bob Sunderland.

“This is a friendly, honor-based competition to help low- to mid-level movers increase their daily step count,” Sunderland said. “The Y would like to help people who are getting less than 10,000 steps a day push themselves to achieve at least 10,000 steps, if not more!”

He said he hopes businesses will register and challenge other businesses.

On May 15, a 1.7-mile group walk will be held, beginning and ending at the YMCA. Steps will be counted until June 20, followed by a party June 23 to give out prizes.

You can reach Tom Relihan at:
trelihan@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 264
On Twitter, @RecorderTom