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Do you find it hard to get out of bed and go for a run? Do you want to establish a regular physical activity schedule?
We know it can be hard at first, but with the help of the Walk Across Texas Program, it can become much easier. Since 1996, Walk Across Texas, also known as WAT, has helped over 650,000 people establish a healthier lifestyle.
The best thing about Walk Across Texas is that it’s free! You can simply join the program at any time. There’s also a WAT Youth program to motivate kids to start doing physical activities.
Do you want to find out more? We’ll tell you everything you need to know about WAT in today’s article. Let’s dive in!
What Is the Walk Across Texas Program?
Walk Across Texas is a free eight-week walking challenge, which is delivered on an online platform. The purpose of this challenge is to help Texans of all ages be more physically active and establish the healthy habit of regular physical activity.
You’ll be surrounded and supported by people you know, like your family, friends, and co-workers. Better yet, you’ll find that even people you don’t know are supporting you and pushing you further.
That’s simply because the program succeeds in building a positive community among all the participants.
How Does the Walk Across Texas Program Work?
The process is simple. You can either form or join a league with family and friends, or you may prefer to invite people from any community you’re a part of, for example:
- Church
- School
- Senior Center
- Work
Then, each league will be arranged into teams, with each team consisting of up to eight members. The teams will work together to achieve the virtual goal of walking across Texas.
Afterward, everyone will choose a favorite type of physical activity. You can enjoy your favorite physical activity, and it’ll be logged as “miles walked” in the online challenge tracker.
All the members’ activities will contribute toward the team mileage total. The goal of each team is to walk a minimum of 832 miles, which is the mileage you’ll complete if you walk across Texas.
Each team will have a captain, and all the members will need to send their mileage to the captain each week throughout the eight weeks of the challenge.
What Happens After the Eight Weeks Are Over?
Whether or not you’ve managed to complete the challenge with your team, you’ll notice that you started establishing a healthy habit. Many people picked up the habit after completing the challenge.
Additionally, there are many fun things to try. For starters, you can continue logging miles by yourself to see how long it’ll take you to walk across Texas.
Also, you can try the challenge again with different people.
After all, the goal isn’t to finish the challenge, but to start a healthier lifestyle.
How to Join the Walk Across Texas Program
The Walk Across Texas Program is available for almost everyone! All you have to do is register, then you’ll be set to start your eight-week journey.
Simply follow the next steps:
Join the Walk Across Texas Facebook Group
You might think all you have to do is just start walking! Still, it’s crucial that you join an official Walk Across Texas group on any social media.
Mostly, you can find them on Facebook. This way, you can engage with the community and join other walking teams!
These groups also include experts. So, you should expect tips to help you along your journey.
Create an Account on the Howdy Health Website
The most important step is to create an official account on the webpage. That’s because creating an account allows you to create a league, create a team, or even join an existing team!
Furthermore, you’ll then be able to access your account at any time. The website will have all the progress you made as well as the participant mileage entries.
You’ll have two account choices according to your demographic: adult, or youth. It’s critical to note that youth can’t join an adult team and vice versa.
Invite Someone to Join Your Team
If you create a team, you’ll be automatically assigned as the team captain. This means that you can invite other people to your team.
When creating a team, you can click on the “Invite Team Members” section and enter the email addresses of the people you want to invite.
If you want to add more members after creating the team, you can still do so. All you have to do is to proceed with the following steps:
- Log into your Howdy Health account.
- Go to the WAT Dashboard and choose the adult section.
- Then, click on “Team Profile.”
- After that, go to “Invite Team Members” and enter the email addresses of the people you want to invite.
Record Your Mileage
After you’ve successfully joined the Walk Across Texas program, you should record your progress on the website.
This is incredibly easy to do.
Just keep in mind that every team member is responsible for recording their mileage if you’re in an adult team. On the other hand, the captain of the youth team should report the team’s mileage.
Here’s how you can record your mileage:
- Log into your Howdy Health account.
- Go to the WAT Dashboard and select “Enter/Edit Mileage Walked.”
- Follow the instructions on the screen.
Did the Walk Across Texas Program Achieve Its Goal?
It’s safe to say that the program had a huge impact on people’s health. Walk Across Texas has helped more than 650,000 people since its start in 1996, contributing to an estimate of $2.3 billion in Texas healthcare savings.
Also, around 95% of the participants reported that they benefited from the program.
In 2021, 13,120 Texans from 141 counties participated in WAT. These people managed to log around 2.22 million miles!
Walk Across Texas FAQs
Can I join more than one team?
Unfortunately, you can only join one active team at a time. Once the eight-week challenge is over, you can join another team.
Can I be the captain of more than one team?
No, you can only oversee one active team at a time. You can create another team after the challenge is over.
Resources
- Can I join more than one team: howdyhealth.org/programs/wat/wat-faqs
- 13,120 Texans from 141 counties participated in WAT: howdyhealth.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2021-wat-adult-program-brief.pdf
- There’s also a WAT Youth program to motivate kids: walkacrosstexas.org/images/wat_youth_flyer.pdf
- Many people picked up the habit after completing the challenge: bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7918-3
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Christian Linden is a seasoned writer and contributor at Texas View, specializing in topics that resonate with the Texan community. With over a decade of experience in journalism, Christian brings a wealth of knowledge in local politics, culture, and lifestyle. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of Texas. When he's not writing, Christian enjoys spending weekends traveling across Texas with his family, exploring everything from bustling cities to serene landscapes.
