The Crazy for Walking initiative aims to destigmatise, and broaden the awareness of, Mental Illness. And this year, the organisation plans to walk to Mars …
“Exercise plays an important role in maintaining a healthy body and a healthy mind,” says Francois Louw, CEO of Crazy for Walking. “Last year, we did a Crazy Walk from Pretoria to Cape Town – and let’s face it, walking this distance is crazy, whereas having a mental illness isn’t crazy. This year, we’ve set our sights a lot higher and we’re starting on a walk to Mars.
“Obviously it’s not physically possible to actually walk to Mars, however we want to get as many people walking as possible and we have developed an app that has a counter, combining the distance walked by all the people in the quest to reach 54,6-million kilometres (the shortest distance between Earth and Mars) in the shortest time possible.”
The Crazy for Walking app is available as a free download in both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store (search for “Crazyforwalking”).
The app measures the distance you walk; all you have to do is set it each time you go for a walk, or participate in a specific event. It also integrates with Apple Health and Google Health when you use a treadmill indoors, so that the data from the treadmill walk can be saved to your Apple and/or Samsung watch.
Some of the fun things that you can do with the app include registering your company, family, or any team that you get together on the app. You can get your team code by contacting info@crazyforwalking.co.za. Once you have set up your team, you can challenge other teams to see who will walk the most kilometres to break the stigma of mental illness. Distances walked by teams will be updated daily in the newsfeed section of the app.
The events element on the app will enable you to request events and you will be able to subscribe to – and take part in – the event. All app users participating in the event will then contribute towards the total distance walked – and thus contribute in the crazy quest of Walking to Mars.
There are several walking events in the week 3 – 10 October (World Mental Health Day). If you can’t participate in one of the events, you can just get out there and walk – it will be good for your physical and mental health.
Some of the events include:
* Pretoria – Union Buildings Challenge – 3 – 10 October Contact: Wikus Lambrechts – wikus@crazyforwalking.co.za
* Pretoria – Union Buildings Fun Run/Walk – Sunday 7 October -Contact: Juan Royffe – juan@crazyforwalking.co.za
* Bloemfontein Riemland Walking Trail – Contact: Suzanne Wille – Suzanne@crazyforwalking.co.za
* Cape Town Crazy for Walking – Walk the Mountain – 3-10 October Contact: Marlene van den Bergh – marlene@crazyforwalking.co.za
* Cape Town Crazy for Walking- Mall Walks – 3-10 October Contact: Natalie Winterbach – natalie@crazyforwalking.co.za
“Every step taken is a step towards destigmatizing Mental Illness,” says Louw. “The old saying goes that even the longest journey begins with a single step, and we want to make a positive contribution to reducing the incidence and impact of Mental Illness.”
The Crazy for Walking initiative is live on the following social media platforms:
Website www.crazyforwalking.co.za
Facebook Crazy for Walking
Twitter @CrazyforWalking #Crazyforwalking #crazysocksday
Instagram @CrazyforWalking