Join Duke’s Get Moving Challenge 2024

Build community and healthier habits during the 10-week fitness competition for staff and faculty

Get Moving Challenge
The 10-week fitness competition begins Jan. 8 and runs through March 20, with weekly check-ins every Wednesday to track participants’ average weekly steps and active minutes.

Brian Zelanko, the Health Promotion Manager for LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, knows that a little competition can go a long way to motivating people to get outside their comfort zone.

He highlights the annual Get Moving Challenge, organized by LIVE FOR LIFE at Duke, as a prime opportunity to tap into that competitive spirit. The challenge is designed to assist staff and faculty in staying more active and cultivating healthier habits in 2024. Registration is open for the 10-week fitness competition, which starts Jan. 8 and concludes on March 20.

As part of the challenge, individuals and teams log weekly progress in various challenge categories, including minutes of activity and steps taken. To ensure fair competition, three leagues have been established within these categories. Teams are placed in specific leagues based on the average number of steps and/or minutes of activity reported during registration by each team member. Throughout the competition, teams will compete exclusively within their designated leagues. 

“The competitive aspect really does help people who are looking to participate in a program, stay active and be engaged,” Zelanko said.

Participants can track weight management, but it is not a competitive category.

Each week, participants who submit data have an opportunity to win a Fitbit Inspire 2 fitness tracker. At the end of the 10 weeks, the top finishers in each league will receive a LIVE FOR LIFE prize bundle, which includes a shirt, tumbler and other accessories.

“We just want to encourage people to get up and move,” Zelanko said. “They may enjoy spending time exercising and having the freedom to choose their activity. It’s about encouraging them to get up and move and to have fun while they’re doing it.”

Since transitioning from working in restaurants and moving around all day to a desk job at Duke in 2021, Matthew Eggleston has seen his weight fluctuate. He wanted to get back on track with his fitness goals last year and joined the Get Moving Challenge.

Matthew Eggleston, Assistant to the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Economics Department.

“I saw that challenge and thought it could be a fun way to track, very casually, without too much pressure,” said Eggleston, Assistant to the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Economics Department.

Eggleston spent the 10 weeks walking on the desk treadmill he bought for himself and hitting the gym in the mornings, eventually racking up 21,410 active minutes  — securing the top spot in last year’s competition. They’re habits he’s kept this year.

To help participants build long-term healthier habits, each of the 10 weeks will feature weekly exercise bingo raffles to encourage competitors to explore new exercises and routines. Winners of the weekly raffles can win prizes, including dumbbell sets, jackets and resistance bands.

Sara Cathey, Health Education Specialist for LIVE FOR LIFE, envisions the Get Moving Challenge as a catalyst for cultivating improved exercise habits. The competition not only kickstarts participants into action but also equips them with the necessary resources and support to sustain their newfound routines.

“The competition really lends itself to having people focus on their health goals while also having ownership of what they’re doing,” she said. “That structure is really helpful as far as getting started with different behaviors and having the support around them to help them sustain that long term.”

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