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Employees ‘Get Moving,’ Drop Weight of Hippo

Almost 2,000 faculty and staff participated in annual health competition

Rachel Lundberg used the Get Moving Challenge as a reason to go for a walk at East Campus during her lunch breaks.
Rachel Lundberg used the Get Moving Challenge as a reason to go for a walk at East Campus during her lunch breaks.
Bryan Roth

Duke’s annual Get Moving Challenge lived up to its name, with faculty and staff compiling impressive numbers in steps taken, minutes of exercise and lost weight during the team-based health competition. 

Over the course of the 10-week program, employees tallied just over 311,000 miles, about 36,500 hours of exercise and dropped nearly 3,500 pounds – the same weight as an average male hippo. Among 1,968 competitors, 191 teams participated across the University and Health System.

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“I’ve been amazed at the collective energy of the participants,” Nick Beresic, health promotion manager with LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program that sponsors Get Moving from Jan. 12 to March 22. “Most of all, I’m proud of the almost 2,000 employees who have been actively participating. It shows dedication to make positive behaviors that can inspire lifelong changes.”

Janet Betts, a clinical nurse at Duke Raleigh Hospital who competed individually, used Get Moving as motivation to join a gym and start focusing on her health. She said checking the competition’s leaderboard proved to be a motivator and weekly emails offered helpful tips on a healthy lifestyle.

Betts compiled 515,289 steps, the equivalent of almost 258 miles. She lost 15 pounds.

“As a nurse, I am always taking care of others and I made the decision to finally take better care of myself,” Betts said. “I’m now working out four-to-five days a week and talking myself into taking the stairs at work instead of finding excuses to avoid them.”

Rachel Lundberg, catalog librarian for serials with Duke Libraries’ Electronic Resources & Serials Management, managed to compile over 1.8 million steps during the 10-week program, setting a goal of averaging 30,000 a day over the final weeks.

“I am very glad that I committed myself to challenging myself, because now I feel healthier and more positive,” she said. “I have also increased my fitness level and reduced my BMI.”

Even though the Get Moving Challenge has concluded, other LIVE FOR LIFE programs are available for faculty and staff to use and enhance health and wellness.

  • Run/Walk Club – Meets Mondays and Wednesdays on East and West campuses, as well as Duke and Raleigh hospitals and the Patient Revenue Management Organization.
  • Duke Fitness Club – Program that provides discounted membership rates to fitness facilities throughout central North Carolina.
  • Free fitness consultations - Meet one-on-one with a Fitness Specialist to learn ways to improve your fitness level. Schedule an appointment by calling (919) 684-3136, option 1, or fill out an online request.

Find a full list of LIVE FOR LIFE programs on the program’s website.