A group of up to 50 residents at Stockland’s Arilla Retirement Village in Victoria have collectively walked the equivalent distance of a lap around the country in less than 12 months.

The initiative of Jo Kitchell, the village’s Lifestyle and Wellbeing Coordinator was designed to improve the residents’ general wellness as well as the village’s social cohesiveness.

Each of the “Arilla Awesome Walkers” was supplied with a pedometer to help them track their steps and a staff member logged kilometres walked and provided updates through the community centre and in-home village television channels.

To help create the experience of walking around the country residents also received information about each town or city they “passed through”.

According to Ms Kitchell the initiative proved very popular regardless of how far each participant walked as each step contributed towards the group’s goal. Some residents took the challenge further by monitoring the distances they walked while on holidays while others would clock up their steps on the gym’s treadmill on the days when inclement weather made it difficult to walk outdoors.

Not surprisingly since completing the challenge, many residents have reported a marked improvement in their health and physical fitness.

Ms Kitchell added that “Stockland is committed to ensuring all residents can not only maintain their independence in retirement but also improve their physical wellbeing with a range of activities available for residents to engage in at their leisure.”

The next challenge? To walk 30,000km along the Pan-American Highway.