Despite last Wednesday’s blistering heat, participants from Champaign County’s Moonwalk 2010 came out to Hessell Park in Urbana to celebrate the thousands of miles they walked for the past eight weeks.

Moonwalk 2010 was a competition between Champaign County and the city of Peoria to see which area could acquire more miles during the eight-week period, according to the program’s website. The competition aimed to simulate a walk to the moon, which is 238,700 miles. With almost 370,000 miles, Champaign County’s walkers surpassed the “walk to the moon” and beat Peoria by 97,137 miles.

Teams registered on the Moonwalk website, where team members could tally up the amount of miles they walked each day. Walkers carried pedometers or used other methods to track their miles for the eight-week period to gauge how many miles they walked.

Sandy Fox, participant and Savoy resident, said anybody in the area could form a team. Fox was part of the MHC Movers, a team managed by her workplace, Champaign County Mental Health Center. She said forming a group was the best part of the program.

“What I liked the best was the competition,” Fox said. “It motivated me to try to be healthy.”

Treva Hopper, Fox’s team leader, said in an email that the team not only consisted of coworkers, but ten of her family members as well. She said the program was good for her entire family, some who were already walkers. Her daughter, who was not a regular walker prior to the competition, culminated 118 miles during the eight-week period, which is about one third of the team’s highest mileage. She added that her parents and nine-year-old twins, who were also new to walking, “were excited to wear their pedometers each day.”

“This was a good way to begin the summer months and bring awareness to all that we are responsible for living as healthy as possible,” Hopper said.

Connie Jenkins, participant and Champaign resident, said she averaged about 44 miles a week, but that was nothing new for her.

Jenkins found the program to fit in to her daily lifestyle. Although she is used to the exercise, she found it interesting to see how many miles she walked a day.

“I walked three miles just at work,” she said.

Jenkins said she walks because she believes in “walking for your health.” Fox agrees.

“It’s a lifestyle change, not a one time thing,” Fox said.