APHA’s National Public Health Week celebration and its Keep It Moving Challenge have something important in common: They both come to an exciting end this Sunday.

The activity challenge, which began Jan. 1, is helping promote healthy behaviors while making sure everyone finds a fun way to move. This year’s challenge inspired people to do all kinds of activities, from gardening and yoga to lifting weights and swimming. More than 1,100 people have completed nearly 280 million steps so far.

The Fitness Enthusiasts and its 10 members are in first place on the team leaderboard, with 881,000 steps. The eight-member Region X (OR WA ID AK) team is in second place, with nearly 790,000 steps.

To make the event even more fun, APHA will be handing out prizes this year. Participants who reach 500,000 or more steps will be entered into a drawing for a NPHW tote bag, while those who reach 750,000 or more will be entered into a drawing for a set of NPHW resistance bands. And those very active overachievers who reach 1 million steps or more will be entered into another drawing for both items. 

The winning teams and participants will be announced April 10, at the end of the challenge. Until then, keep up the good work! We look forward to crossing the finish line together with you this weekend.

Photo by VTT Studio, courtesy iStockphoto