The Beat the Street challenge taking place in Shrewsbury is set to enter its Go Active themed week to encourage participants to find new activities and sports to try out.
The idea is that people will find something that they might not have tried before to help them continue to keep up their new active habits after the Beat the Street competition comes to an end and to explore the sports and leisure options on offer.
More than 7,000 people have signed up to play the Beat the Street Shrewsbury game and have together walked, cycled, wheeled, run and scooted an incredible 40,000 miles so far in the competition.
Anyone of any age is invited to take part and you can still get involved now by picking up a card from one of the distribution points listed at www.beatthestreet.me/shrewsbury . You can join an existing school, community group or workplace team or you can set up your own.
Teams of all varieties including schools, community groups and workplaces have been battling it out for the past several weeks across the average and total points leaderboards to take home prizes of vouchers for books if they top the leaderboard. There are also prizes for individuals and ‘lucky spot’ prizes just for taking part.
The Runlates Crew, who are currently fifth on the average points leaderboard, have been incorporating Beat the Street into their sessions which combine Pilates classes and social runs. The group has steadily grown into a supportive community of runners wanting to stay fit and healthy in order to explore the very best of Shropshire together on foot.
Victoria Gidney, founder of Runlates, said: “Beat the Street has tapped into the competitive team spirit of the group, inspiring creativity with route planning to accrue as many points as possible and discover some lesser-known streets on the way. It’s also encouraged some family members to get involved, and has added extra motivation for everyone to head out for some exercise and take some scenic detours on their commutes. The daily leaderboard updates on our WhatsApp group also add an incentive!
“It’s a brilliant initiative, and we’re all very thankful that Shrewsbury was one of the towns chosen.”
Simon Jones, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said: “The aim of Beat the Street is to encourage communities to become more active and to incorporate those healthy habits into their lifestyles over the long-term so they become part of people’s lifestyle. The Go Active themed week is a celebration of all the ways you can get moving in and around the area and a fabulous opportunity to try out something new without any pressure.”
He added: “Beat the Street is a fantastic, free-to-enter initiative and anyone can get involved. As well as encouraging you to get active which will have a hugely positive impact on your health, you could also help support a community team to win a prize.”
Beat the Street Shrewsbury coincides with the Commonwealth Games period, and are part of the celebration of the Games coming to the West Midlands. Beat the Street Shrewsbury has been commissioned by Shropshire Council with support from the National Lottery via Sport England and Shrewsbury Big Town Plan. It is being delivered by Intelligent Health.
More information is available at www.beatthestreet.me/shrewsbury and on social media at @BTSShrewsbury #togetherwemove
