Walk4Life FAQs

We are keeping these frequently asked questions updated – but if you can’t find out what you need to know here contact us directly at caroline.markham@walkengland.org.uk

GENERAL

Is the Walk4Life project the same as the Active Challenge Route project?
Yes – the project was called the Active Challenge Route project as a working name. This was tested and found not to appeal to our target market. The name is now the Walk4Life project.

What happened to the Active Challenge Route Project?
This is the same project – we have only changed the name, in response to user testing.

What is the main aim of the Walk4Life project / Active Challenge Routes initiative? Is it to raise awareness in general of walking?
The aim of the project is to encourage people to walk to improve their activity levels. The project will do this by presenting clear and easy to access information on where people can go for a short walk, as well as by offering tools to help them record their progress.

The project will be indentifying ‘miles’ which will be waymarked wherever possible to help people understand how far a mile is, and how long it takes to walk a mile. This will hopefully build confidence and encourage people to think of walking short journeys.

How does this link in to the Olympic legacy?
The project is closely linked to the Olympic legacy – we hope to build on the enthusiasm and increased awareness of physical activity generated by the Olympics to get more people walking, and to stay walking.

The Olympic link is why we have a target of 2,012 mile routes.

Will Walk England be promoting the Walk4Life routes beyond 2012?
We will continue to promote the routes as Walk4Life as long as Change4Life continues. When the project ends we will continue to promote the walks through Walk England’s website.

How do I get involved with the project?
Simply contact us telling us you wish to be involved. We’ll keep you updated with news on how the project is progressing, including sending you the toolkits as they come out. If you want to talk to us ring Caroline on 07920 198605 or email caroline.markham@walkengland.org.uk


THE NEW WEBSITE

What will the new website address be?

The website will at : www.walk4life.info

When will it be available?

It will be available for partners to add routes in August 2010. The full version will be available to the public in September 2010.

What happens if people go to the website before it is launched?

At the moment the web address takes you to a Change4Life page which mentions walking and Walk4Life. When this changes we’ll update this response.

Will the new website be available for the general public to access?

The new website is aimed at the general public. It will be designed to be easy to use and to appeal to people who currently do not take much exercise.

When can I use the website to add my routes?

The website will be launched in September, partners will be able to add routes in August on to a pre-launch version of the site. As soon as this is available will let all registered partners know.

We know the timing isn’t great, and that many people will be on holiday, so we have worked out a way you can get routes to us before then – please see Toolkit part 4 for advice on plotting routes using Google.

What information will I be able to get about use of my routes?

When you add routes to the website, you will have the opportunity to add your organisation name. If you do this, the routes will be recorded as being ‘yours’. We will then be able to report back to you on how many times these routes have been accessed.

We are working with a PhD student at Loughborough University who is evaluating the project for us – we hope that she will be able to assist with setting up a system for providing data to partners. We will know more about this when the site goes live.

What information can I see about people using the site?

The website will collect a massive amount of data – analyzing it will be a big job. We will be able to see if people have been referred to the site by a health scheme, and how many of these people were inactive, and how many go on to be more active … but of course getting to that stage will take time! We will be working with partners to try to provide them with valuable information of real benefit to them.


WORKING WITH PARTNERS

How do I register as a partner?

To register as a partner simply email caroline.markham@walkengland.org.uk
Is there any funding available to support the delivery of the project for partners?

No – we don’t have funds to help partners deliver the project. Walk England will provide the website, and will provide advice through toolkits and on-line. We will provide waymarkers and advice on erecting them but we do not have funds to pay for additional costs incurred by partners.

We hope partners will find the project beneficial to them, either by providing a place to share information about their routes, or through helping them meet their objectives to improve activity levels. We do not anticipate that the costs to partners will be high.

Can we add all of our existing routes onto the website?

Yes – we hope our partners will use the website as a place to store and share all their routes.

I'm not sure how suitable the project will be relating to sustainable travel to schools and places of work...can you give me more information about this?

The project fits closely with these projects. We hope that safe routes to schools will be added to the site, as well as work place walks.

Once the website is live we hope that groups will use the site for fun challenges, for example a school may challenge another school to reach a set target (for example which school can walk to Paris fastest – just by walking to school) through recording personal or group activity.


THE ROUTES

Do all the routes have to be a mile long?

No – any short routes can be put onto the website.

What steps are necessary to create the routes?

There will be 2 main types of routes on the website, short walks and Walk4Life miles.

To add existing or new short walks to the site all you need to do is plot your route onto the basemap using the tools on the website. This will be easy to do, professionals and the public will have access to this facility.

Walk4Life miles can be added in the same way. We hope that mile long routes will be developed across a range of landscapes, both urban and rural. To be of value a mile route must have a clear start point, and be either a mile circuit, a linear mile, a linear half-mile or a mile made up of several circuits around a track, park or playing field. The website will show how long a route is as it is plotted – it will be easy to see when the magic ‘mile’ is reached.

On Walk4Life miles partners will be asked to enter additional information (the public will not have access to this facility), this will be in the form of tick boxes:

• Is the route 1 mile long?
• Is it waymarked as a Walk4Life mile? (you will be able to go back in and change this if waymarking is done later)
• Is it flat ? (we will be issuing further guidance on how flat a route needs to be to meet this criteria)
• Is it barrier free? (i.e. can it be walked without stopping to cross roads, negotiate gates or stiles or other barriers)
• Are there are potential hazards? if so have they been identified and noted?

You will be able to go back and edit information about any route at any time – so don’t worry if you haven’t got all the details to hand when you add your routes.

At the moment the website isn’t far enough developed for routes to be plotted, so please hang on to your routes – as soon as routes can be plotted we’ll let you know (as long as you have registered with us for updates).

If you have a lot of routes and are concerned about getting them all added to the website, or if you have digital data which you’d like us to import directly get in touch with us.

WAYMARKING

How many waymarkers will we receive per route in the toolkit? Can we purchase more? What are the costs?

We hope to be able to provide everyone with enough waymarkers without having to ask for any payment. We have not yet decided how best to distribute the waymarkers – as soon as we do we’ll add that information here, as well as in the Waymarking toolkit.

What will the waymarkers be like?

We’ll be producing 2 main types of waymarkers; stickers which can be added to existing signs or structures, and plastic waymark discs which can be fastened to posts. There will be ‘start’ ‘finish’ and ‘turn round here’ versions.

Have you got a system for replacing waymarkers that are stolen, vandalized, deteriorated or broken? 

We hope to be able to provide enough waymarkers to meet everyone’s needs. The project is currently funded until 2012, beyond that time we can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to replace waymarkers, although we will do our best to keep the routes waymarked for as long as we can.

I want to use the Walk4Life miles logos or images - what do I need to do?

If you are producing local publicity material and want to use any Walk4Life Miles logos or images please contact: caroline.markham@walkengland.org.uk

THE WALKING FITNESS TEST

What is the Rockport test?

The Rockport test, or walking fitness test, is an internationally recognised test that uses data collected after walking one mile on the flat to assess a person’s fitness.

The Walk4Life project uses a test based on this test to help people establish their comparative fitness.

The routes which are suitable for this test will be clearly identified on the website. The test only works on routes that are 1 mile long, flat, and uninterrupted. They also need to be clearly waymarked as Walk4Life miles so that people know when to start and stop walking.

The test requires people to :

• Warm up at a gentle pace for at least 5 minutes.
• Walk 1 mile as fast as they can.
• Record the time to walk 1 mile.
• Take their pulse over 10 seconds immediately at the end of 1 mile. 
• Enter the data into a calculator on the website, along with information on gender, height and weight. The calculator will determine estimated aerobic capacity (VO2 Max) and compare that to standards for the relevant gender and age group.

If you didn’t find what you want to know here please ask us the question and we’ll respond to you directly.

We will be updating this page with new questions as they arise so it is worth checking back regularly if you need to know more.

Send your questions to us to : caroline.markham@walkengland.org.uk