Police staff are used to stepping up – but 30,000 steps a day?
Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers has been doing just that – and sometimes more – for the past two weeks as a participant in the 2019 Diabetes NZ Fitbit MoveMeant Challenge.
His routine saw him out-step the other 15 participants and take the number one spot with a total of more than 430,016 steps, or around 383km. In last year’s challenge he came second.
“I’m very pleased to have done better than last year – but the real accolades should go to the participants who are living with diabetes and did so well,” he says.
This was the fourth year of the annual challenge, which sees prominent New Zealanders donning a Fitbit Versa and trying to rack up as many steps as possible.
Other participants this year included top businesspeople, media figures, politicians, health gurus and at least one celebrity chef, a number of whom have diabetes. Between them they stepped a total of 2,532km in the two weeks.
Going into the last weekend, Richard had taken nearly 380,000 steps and held a healthy 60,000-plus lead over the second-place holder, Beef and Lamb New Zealand CEO Rod Slater. In the final reckoning, he won by nearly 80,000 steps.
Richard says he tried to disrupt family life as little as possible by concentrating his effort on early morning and evening runs.
“The only way I could find time to get the steps in - running and walking - was to get up at 3.30am each day and pace the streets,” he says.
“Most days I managed to get 20km in before meetings started at 7am. Then it was a conscious decision to walk rather than drive where I could - and normally a walk or run in the evening as well.”
He says the challenge was a big step up from his usual fitness routine, which sees him cover about 10kms a day.
“I don’t have diabetes but I’m very aware that I’m in an age group where it’s an increased risk,” he says.
“The achievements of the participants with diabetes show the importance of staying active to prevent or manage illness, and that’s something I think all Police staff can relate to.”
Diabetes is estimated to now affect more than 250,000 New Zealanders, with a further one in four thought to have pre-diabetes.
As well as raising money through sponsorship, the Fitbit challenge aims to raise awareness about the condition and the importance of regular exercise in preventing type 2 diabetes, and managing all forms of the disease.
Richard joins previous winners entrepreneur Andrew Barnes, triathlete Andrea Hewitt and politician Hamish Walker as an official champion.
Heather Verry, Chief Executive of Diabetes NZ, thanked him for his participation and the effort he put into his stepping.
“It’s all about making people aware that movement is so important in helping them manage diabetes,” she says.
“We were really delighted to have an influencer like Richard involved, with the people he’s able to reach in Police, and we were excited that he won considering how close he came last year.”