Walking

Go the Distance Cook County Campaign Increased Walking Opportunities for Suburban Cook County Residents

Chronic diseases and conditions like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity are common, costly, and preventable health problems. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), walking can have a significant impact on health. It’s free, one of the simplest forms of physical activity, and easy to start.

From April to October 2016, the Go the Distance, Cook County (GTD) campaign focused on increasing walking opportunities for suburban cook county (SCC) residents. This campaign was supported by Cook County Department of Public Health’s (CCDPH) Healthy HotSpot initiative, which aims to build healthy places in SCC through community partnerships.

GTD participants used the GTD website to take an on-line walking pledge, log minutes walked, connect with walkers on social media (Facebook  and Twitter ) and explore walkable places like the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC), one of the oldest and largest forest preserve systems in the nation.

Leveraging the relationship with FPCC, GTD expanded its reach, maximized community engagement and participation; connecting residents and families to FPCC recreational activities like hiking, nature walks and camping. As a result, hundreds of families pledged to walk; 187,000 minutes were logged; and nearly 2,200 connected via social media.

GTD kicked off its second season April 1, 2017, in conjunction with National Public Health Week (April 3 thru 9) and National Walking Day (April 5).

For more information and to take the pledge to simply walk more minutes each day, visit www.gothedistancecc.com .