Inuvik's Walk to Tuk 2018 initiative had its highest ever participation rate with more than 100 people walking on 29 teams.
Organizer Sheena Tremblay said participants walked more than 59,000 km altogether in the eighth annual initiative.
Tremblay has been organizing the event every year since it began.
Samantha McKay/NNSL photo
"I participate, but as the organizer, I think it's really cool to see the initiative grow, but it's even more meaningful to hear people's stories about how Walk to Tuk has changed their lives, or helped them get more exercise than they would normally get," Tremblay said. "Those kinds of stories are really what make the imitative meaningful to me."
Tremblay added that she thinks Walk to Tuk is an important initiative.
"I think it's a helpful and important initiative because in the dark, cold months of winter, it's really easy to just hibernate," Tremblay said. "Especially having an initiative that brings people together really helps people get out and socialize with friends and be active at the same time. You're accountable to your team, which can be motivating."
Janet Boxwell is the team leader for Team Gofer and has been participating for years.
"We made it to Tuk and on the way back we made it to Wekwete," Boxwell said. "So if you look at the map, it follows the road to Tuk, and then it seems to come through the tundra and the barren lands and off trail a bit to Wekwete, so we made it most of the way back to Yellowknife, too."
Boxwell said her team walked a total of approximately 2,900 km.
"I really like going out every day to go walk my dog, and this really encourages me to really go out a little bit longer," Boxwell said. "A few people on my team have said this change is something they want to continue because they feel better, exercising more. I think it's really cool how it helps people make permanent changes."
Boxwell said the Walk to Tuk initiative has evolved over time and now provides many resources to make it a fun and accessible initiative for participants.
"The systems that they have in place now from when it first started, it's evolved over time," Boxwell said. "There are lots of resources, spreadsheets, information on the website, maps, or you can just do your own thing!"