Rodney Hanson is pictured before and after his weight loss, which he attributes in part to walking more steps.
The facility-wide goal of Sanford Lab’s Walk the Beamline competition was to “walk” from Sanford Lab to Fermilab, along the future LBNF/DUNE neutrino beamline. Round trip, the subterranean journey is 1,600 miles. With over eighty researchers and employees participating in the six-week challenge, Sanford Lab exceeded the goal, ending the friendly competition with a total of 39,548,401 steps—roughly 2,996 miles.
Rodney Hanson said he was off work the day his coworkers signed up for the challenge. When he came in the next day, they asked if he wanted to join their team. He said, “Of course! I’m always in for a challenge!”
The team included Curtis Jones, Eli Atkinson, Frank Gabel, Jay Wilczynski and, of course, Hanson. They dubbed themselves “The Three-Legged Dogs.” For six weeks, Hanson and his teammates kept each other stepping. And, in their workspace, there’s plenty of walking trails.
“We would walk to the ramp when it was time for a shift,” Hanson said. “I’d walk back and forth between the Ross and the Yates cages while I was waiting for loads on the cage. And at lunch I tried to do at least two and a half miles through the drifts.”
Hanson said his goal was to walk at least fifteen miles each day—about 30,000 steps. He achieved that goal—and more.
“I lost 30 pounds during the challenge,” said Hanson. “It’s got me feeling pretty good.”
The tenacity of his team earned them the most steps, ending the challenge with a total of 4,381,891 steps (332 miles)!
In light of the enormous success of the Walking the Beamline walking challenge, the Environment, Safety and Health Department is getting ready to roll out their next wellness initiative. When asked if he would participate in the next challenge, Hanson said, “Certainly! I’m planning on it!”