Category Archives: Walking

College Days: Wellness Breakfast, Wellness Walk-a-Thon, and the Rebel Run

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To kick off College Days, the Wellness Committee is hosting a series of events to eat, meet and greet, and move your feet. If you’re an RRC staff member, you can register for all the Wellness events here.

Come out for a free Wellness Breakfast

On the morning of May 30th staff are invited for a free Wellness Breakfast at the Roblin Centre and the Notre Dame Campus (Voyageur Cafeteria) beginning at 8:00 am and going till 9:30.  The buffet breakfast includes a yogurt parfait bar, oatmeal, turkey bacon, back bacon, eggs, toast and beverages. Wellness Committee members and other helpers will be on hand to take pledges and answer any questions you may have. Please register for the breakfast using the link above.

Help support staff dependents to study at RRC

If you’re participating in the Wellness Walk-a-thon or the Rebel Run, you can drop off your pledge form for the Bursary for Dependents of RRC Employees at the breakfast or the over the lunch hour. If you do not wish to gather pledges we encourage a donation of $10 towards the award. The bursary was started back in 2009 from an endowment fund, which the Walk-a-thon has helped grow to over $20K. For more information about this award  and/or to get an application form, head to the RRC website and look under General Awards.

To date, the award has been given to eight recipients including Taylor Schapf (Business Administration, 2012) daughter of instructor Glenn Schapf.  Taylor shared these words with us:

It is outstanding how Red River College strives to open doors for their students to guarantee their education is being put to use in the real working world. When deciding where to pursue my post-secondary education, it was evident that Red River College was the perfect match for me. I knew that I wanted to receive practical training within a closely-knit student/instructor environment. I also knew that I wanted to receive my diploma in only two years and immediately start getting on-the-job experience after graduating. I can truly say that Red River College has exceeded my expectations and is preparing me for a successful career in the business industry. In receiving the RRC Dependents’ Award, I feel motivated to continue learning and enhance my skills as a future businesswoman.

RRC Dependent Award Picture_Taylor

Glenn and Taylor Schapf

Wellness Walk-a-thon Continue reading →

Geocaching at Oak Hammock Marsh

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When the weekend is upon you, do you get cold sweats thinking about finding something to do to keep the kids active and engaged? Have you exhausted your activity selection in the city limits and need to find some fresh new ideas to keep your family entertained?

Oak Hammock Marsh has many family related wellness activities that are open to the public, and only 20 minutes north of Winnipeg. Check out the events page on their website to see all they have to offer. Continue reading →

Walking on campus

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Recently, I listened to a webinar about walkable communities. I thought about my own experiences, about wellness at the college, and what we could do to promote walking and a more walkable campus. Three presenters spoke, and I really enjoyed hearing different perspectives from Sam Schwartz Engineering, the Center for Disease Control (health focus) and America Walks (community engagement).

My biggest take away was exercise improves health. One neat statistic from The Center of Disease Control was that “6 bouts a day of 2-3 minutes of stair climbing improves cholesterol and fitness in college women”.

Now they had my attention – and it got me thinking about my experiences here at the college – and where and how much I walk. The session left me with some neat ideas on how to promote walking, and how we could make the campus more inviting for walking. Some of the ideas I liked were creating a map of outdoor walkable routes, creating walking/running club (which I believe exists). I then thought about walking indoors especially as we head into winter – and walking in the mall or the stair wells.  Wouldn’t it be great to have some fitness information about how many calories I burned or how many steps I took? Could I use a pedometer to help track my success? These and other ideas could be a great part of a regular wellness routine.

So now that I have thought and talked about walking –  how about I just get up and do it! See you in the stairwells.

Walking

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I love Walking. It’s such a healthy way to get around, and it doesn’t wreak havoc with my feet. I used to run a wee bit until plantar fasciitis came for a long, painful, visit. But walking has been beneficial; it’s kept me moving, it gets me outside and away from my computer.

Being a person who requires an external motivation, I’ve found that walking to a location is preferable to walking around a track or on a treadmill. Making a commitment to exercise can often be hard to keep up if it’s self-directed. If you live close to work or commute by bus, walking part of the way to work is a perfect motivator, particularly if you want to reach work in time. And at the end of the day, walking at least part way home from work is one of the best stress relievers available. Walking with a companion or two, either human or canine is a great incentive particularly if you can commit to regularly scheduled dates and times.  

At any time of year, Winnipeg is a perfect city to walk in and around. There are so many beautiful places to wander. At this time of year, walking in the city is a bit of an adventure. So far this winter it’s not snow drifts that get in the way, it’s the ice. A person has to stay alert and plot their course down a stretch of sidewalk, with lots of weaving from one side to the other, a bit of clambering over some piled snow, a couple of hops over icy bits, and one or two leaps of faith.   

If you are able to be mobile, walking is a convenient, easy-to-use method of staying healthy. It relieves stress, it can be meditative, or it can be exhilarating. Other than good shoes, no special equipment is needed. You can think, talk, sing if you want, and wander to your heart’s content, all while getting fit and healthy.

I’ll say it again, I love Walking … and Yoga and Zumba, but that’s another post, maybe.

Submitted by Nancy Ball, Research and Planning