The first week of our Keep Moving Challenge has flown by, as have the exercise minutes. A whopping 28 out of 236 teams have racked up 2400 minutes of exercise after just one week. But with their final goal already achieved, they’re not resting on their laurels. Like team C’mon Sis, a merry gang of four colleagues from the Department of Social, Cultural and Student Services. They kept a diary during their first week of this challenge.
Monday, 1 March – Ready, set, go!
The challenge begins. Robin Oostvogels, Goele Descamps, Caitlin Hermans and Dorien Depover don’t waste any time, starting early in the morning. No coffee for Robin, but an invigorating morning walk instead. During their lunch break, Caitlin and Goele also go for a walk, with a detour to grab a bite to eat. For the duration of this challenge, Dorien is going to walk to the swimming pool instead of cycling there, to get some extra exercise in.
The four have even set themselves an extra challenge this week: a heart walk. They freely admit, though, that it takes some imagination to discern a heart shape in some of their creations …
Tuesday, 2 March – Podcast of the week
Goele and Caitlin go for another short walk during their lunch break. The perfect time to discover new podcasts, says Goele. Her tip of the week: Vijftig tinten gras (‘Fifty shades of grass’) by Stijn Van de Voorde.
Robin rides her bike to campus, where she combines business with pleasure: during a walking meeting, she discovers part of the Tour of the Future and sees containers flying around.
In the evening, Caitlin visits the Alpaca Farm in Hoogstraten. She’s going to sponsor the little brother or sister of Lientje, pictured here.
Wednesday, 3 March – Ready to run
Time to dust off the running shoes! Goele is going for a seven-kilometre run today; for Caitlin, it’s her first run in two months. ‘Six kilometres and I was exhausted’, she laughs. ‘Trust me, it’s better if we spare you our post-workout pics’.
Now that the days are getting longer again, Dorien likes to get back on her bike after work to (re)discover the local area.
Thursday, 4 March – Come rain or shine
We’re halfway through the first week of the Keep Moving Challenge, and team C’mon Sis are already halfway to the final goal of 2400 exercise minutes. After three sunny days of springtime, rain clouds now dominate the sky. But that doesn’t deter the four colleagues.
‘I’m not sure I would’ve gone out for a walk over lunch in this weather if it hadn’t been for this challenge’, admits Caitlin, ‘but it’s really motivating to see how well everyone else is doing. I walked for more than half an hour, and I wasn’t alone: two ducks kept me company.’
Friday, 5 March – Fraternising with the enemy
Goele decides to fraternise with some colleagues who are in another team, The Socials. Together, they go bird spotting in the Fort of Wilrijk, known for its cormorants. However, the fraternisation is short-lived: ‘After our joint walk, the battle for the most exercise minutes is back on in full force’, she laughs.
Robin and Dorien go for a run to rack up some more exercise minutes. With 16 kilometres on the clock, Dorien is sorry that there’s no Ten Miles in Antwerp this year. ‘I was pumped and ready to go.’
Meanwhile, C’mon Sis are approaching the finish line with only 700 exercise minutes to go. If they put their minds to it over the weekend, they can get to 2400 minutes in just one week.
Saturday, 6 March – Make a run for it
It’s go time for team C’mon Sis. Robin is running the Kruibeke half marathon today, a virtual race on location. Racking up 130 exercise minutes, she single-handedly brings the team another step closer to the finish line.
The others aren’t sitting idly by, but first they have to woo some prospective students at our university’s e-Info Day. Afterwards, Goele runs it off by putting in nine kilometres at the NaturaRun in Westmalle.
Sunday 7 March – Will they make it?
We’re in the endgame now, with only 220 minutes to go for the team to reach the final goal. All four team members head out. Robin, for one, goes for an hour-long walk with her dad while they spot some birds.
The next morning, the results are posted on the website of the Keep Moving Challenge: C’mon Sis are one of the first teams to reach the final goal of 2400 exercise minutes. Right away, the four agree to set a new goal: why not collect 2400 exercise minutes every week? Let’s go!