Schools like Marquette are often compared to other leading Jesuit universities when it comes to the race or gender of its faculty, but now you can add another criterion to that list: athletic prowess.
Marquette has been invited to partake in the “Go Move Challenge,” which is designed to track every minute of intentional physical activity – including walking up stairs, dancing, even vacuuming – from Feb. 1-27. Marquette is competing against the University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University and Loyola Marymount University, to see which one has the most active faculty or staff.
Wellness Coordinator Kristin Kipp said in an email that Marquette was invited to participate by the University of San Francisco after Gary Meyer, vice provost for undergraduate programs, was attending an orientation for the seventh cohort of the Ignation Colleagues Program.
“We are always looking for new ways to help people get active,” Kipp said, “and I thought this friendly competition sounded like a great way to do that.”
Kipp said that so far, only 21 people signed up for the challenge, far short from her goal of 100-150 participants. Since this is Marquette’s first year competing and the other schools started three years ago, Kipp said she would like to see more participation.
“This is a great opportunity for those who want to increase their activity to do so,” Kipp said. In an effort to prepare faculty for the challenge, Kipp and her colleagues created indoor walking maps of different buildings around campus for those who have an aversion to the winter weather.
In addition, Marquette is putting on a Walking/Couch to 5K Program in March. But beyond the numerous reasons for getting active and participating in the challenge (namely, bragging rights over California), Kipp said there’s one more thing people should keep in mind: the more you sit, the quicker you die.
“Research shows that prolonged sitting increases your mortality risk, regardless of whether or not you exercise regularly,” Kipp said. “Although mortality risk is greater for people who don’t exercise regularly, if you sit at your desk all day at work for eight hours, you’re at a higher risk.”
So whether one is looking to get in shape for the 5K, show California who’s boss or trying to stave off death, the challenge can signed up for through Hubbub for free or by emailing Kipp the amount of active hours completed each week.
