And they’re off - 1,300 Ryman residents across New Zealand and Australia are setting off together today on an epic virtual journey to walk more than 72,000kms.

They’re taking part in Walking for Wellness, which is Ryman Healthcare’s Active Ageing event for 2022.

Each resident will walk 60kms in 30 days throughout October and will track their progress on the My Virtual Mission app and website.

They’ve been training for three months, and today the virtual mission begins. They will each walk 2kms a day wherever they choose and will log their steps on My Virtual Mission.

Some residents are using smartphones or smart watches to track their steps, while others are using pedometers supplied by Ryman.

Ryman Healthcare has villages throughout New Zealand, and in Victoria, Australia, and the walks reflect this.

New Zealand residents are virtually walking the beautiful 60km Abel Tasman Coastal Track, over 30 days in October, using the ‘My Virtual Mission’ app, which will track their progress.

Australian residents aren’t missing out either – they are virtually walking along Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula for their mission, and the results of both missions will be combined to determine the winners in each category.

They’ll set off on October 1 - International Day of Older People – a day to celebrate the contributions that older people make to society and raises awareness of issues affecting them.

Many of the participants are measuring their health gains as part of the mission. Some basic health checks were undertaken before they started training, and once the virtual mission is completed, they will run the health checks again to monitor improvements.

A virtual awards ceremony will be held on November 23 to celebrate the winners.

Residents have embraced the challenge.

“Keeping physically fit, it’s integrated with your mental health, your attitudes, all parts of your body synchronise with each other. It’s very important at our age to keep moving,” says Bryan, a resident of Ryman’s Jean Sandel Retirement Village in New Plymouth.

Bryan already walks every day and decided to sign up for the Walking for Wellness challenge for a bit of extra motivation.

“Something like this could motivate people to get up and move,” he says.

Ryman New Zealand CEO Cheyne Chalmers says that the walkers have a lot of support from Ryman.

“I know they’re all ready to take on the challenge to virtually walk 60kms in 30 days, and at Ryman we’ll be cheering them on every step of the way,” says Cheyne.

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKfS1Z08y6s

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