Trek Tanzania 2017

Last year, Mainsprings launched its inaugural walk-a-thon, "Trek Tanzania: A Virtual Climb of Kilimanjaro". While climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is on many people's bucket lists, few get the opportunity to actually travel to Tanzania and take on Africa's highest peak. As many climbers (including our own Administrative Director, Melinda Wulf) would tell you, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is no walk in the park. It takes a lot of determination over several grueling days to make it to the summit.

That being said, we found out very quickly last year that we have some incredibly active and fit

supporters, who are more than capable of walking the entire route and then some! We had groups of friends and families taking morning walks to get coffee or out for an evening stroll, all while counting their steps to see if they could reach the 89,480 steps it takes to climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and back down. Not only were these supporters making themselves healthier during our week-long walk-a-thon, but they were simultaneously making our community in Tanzania healthier by raising money for our healthcare clinic.

We also found out that our teams of supporters were not only competitive with how many steps they were each achieving, but with raising money. Together, they helped us raise over $30,000 for our clinic which provides preventative health services to a community of more than children and families.

This year, we are launching our second Trek Tanzania, but the rules will be slightly different than last year. Instead of running for one-week only like last year, Trek Tanzania 2017 will run for the entire month of October - and yes, even though it is now October 4th and the competition technically started three days ago, it is not too late to register and start tracking your steps and fundraising!

How can you participate? There are multiple ways!

Grab your friends and family and create a team, or tackle the trek solo. Be sure to register yourself or your team (you can do so by clicking here), and use the entire month of October to track your steps and see if you can reach 89.480 by the end of the month. You can also get friends and family to sponsor your virtual climb, which will help raise money for our clinic.

Prizes will be awarded to the team that raises the most money by the end of the month, as well as the team that reaches the summit first. You and your teammates are responsible for tracking your steps via whatever method you prefer (MapMyRun, iPhone Health app, Fitbit, pedometer, etc.). To complete the trek, your team must walk 89,480 steps per team member. For example, if you are a team of five, your team needs to complete 447,400 steps (that's 89,480 x 5 participants) AS A TEAM. This means that some people can walk more than others, you just need to complete the required amount of steps cumulatively. Be sure to let us know when you and your teammates have completed your steps!

Happy trekking!