ABOUT THE CHALLENGE
WHAT IS ONE MILLION STEPS?
‘One Million Steps’ is a fitness and fundraising challenge for One Million People affected by MS in Europe. We are challenging people to complete 1Million Steps or 800K till 3rd December 2021 and to raise funds to improve the quality of life of people affected by MS.
This challenge is hosted by the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP) which is a Pan-European umbrella organization with over 30 years of expertise. We work together with our members and our partners to ensure that the more than 1 million people living with MS in Europe, have a real voice in determining their own priorities. We rely on a growing network of 43 member organisations from 37 European countries.
WHERE AND WHEN IS THE 'ONE MILLION STEPS' CHALLENGE?
The ‘One Million Steps’ is the online fitness challenge which starts during EMSP Annual Conference on 9th June. It is open for all participants across Europe and overseas and for all fitness levels. You can decide when and where to complete the steps/kms on your own pace till 3rd December 2021.
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?
Are you a keen a fitness enthusiast looking for a challenge, or someone who wants to improve or start to live an active life or looking to fundraise for a cause? If so, then the event is for you!
Whether it’s along a stunning coastline, or on your favourite streets, trails, parks, at home, work place or shopping mall - your ‘1 Million Steps’ Challenge for a million people affected by MS which can be an unforgettable experience for you– with your friends, family, co-workers as you can participate as a team, join a public team or just do it yourself and have an amazing sense of achievement.
If you are a wheelchair user, you can log your kms in a way that will be challenging for you.
HOW CAN I COMPLETE THIS CHALLENGE DURING PANDEMIC AND LOCKDOWN?
'1 Million Steps' is a online fitness and fundraising challenge, which can be completed on your own time anywhere, without any risk to yourself and others – you can calculate your steps/Kms in your own home, favourite streets, trails, parks, work place, shopping mall or grocery store.
Just a year ago, no one could have predicted the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on the lives of millions. As we all pass through consecutive ‘unlock’ phases, it is imperative we take stock, adopt the new normal, repair and restart the healing and rebuilding process.
Participating in the challenge ‘1 Million Steps’, lends you an opportunity to all participants to ‘raise friends and therefore raise funds’ while leading an active lifestyle during this global pandemic.
Solidarity in the year 2020 has been tested, and it is time to rise to the clarion call for Resurgence. Resurgence of spirit, hope and belief. There is no denying the power of sport to inspire people to create awareness about MS in Europe while raising funds and thus connecting the participants closer to people affected by MS
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN THIS CHALLENGE?
Any one can participate in this challenge. However, if you are leading an inactive life then it is advisable to consult your primary physician before beginning the challenge.
CAN I CYCLE OR SWIM MY 800 KMS?
Yes, it is up to you where and how you to complete your 1 Million Steps or 800k.
CAN I COMPLETE 1 MILLION STEPS OR 800 KMS IN MY WHEELCHAIR?
Yes you can complete your kms in your wheelchair but if you are not using any fitness app then you have to convert the kms into steps and log it in your account. you can access a convertor by clicking here
WHAT CAN I DO IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
For any further questions or information, please write to us at office.manager@emsp.org
REGISTERING
DO I NEED TO PAY TO REGISTER?
You can participate and register in '1 Million Steps' challenge for free. You can sign up here to begin the challenge.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF REGISTRATION?
You have the option to choose how you want to participate in this challenge:
DO IT YOURSELF: You can complete 1 Million steps or 800 Kms as an individual participant and raise funds during the process of completing your own steps or kms.
DO IT IN A TEAM: You can complete steps or Kms as a team, the size of your team could include min 4 and max 6 members. The captain of the team can include other members through invitations or you can create a public team where you allow anyone to join your team. A team can include your friends, family or co-worker. Don’t forget to give a ‘Name’ to your team and in this case you raise funds as a team.
DO IT AS A CORPORATE TEAM: You can compete your steps or Kms as a corporate team. One corporate can have multiple teams and each team will have 4-6 employees participating as a team. You raise funds for as a corporate and find out if your employer can be part of the Matched Giving scheme. If they are, they could double every penny you raise
HOW DO I JOIN A TEAM?
You can join a public team by clicking on the "Join us" button on the teams fundraising page. Or you can create your own private team and invite your friends, family or co-workers to join. If you want to join a private team then you will need to ask the team captain to send you an invite.
WHAT CAN I LOG-IN IF I FORGET MY PASSWORD?
You can go to login to your 1 Million Steps account and click on forget password to reset. If you are already in your account then you head to your dashboard and click on ‘My account’ and select ‘Reset password’.
MY FITNESS ACTIVITY
WHERE DO I LOG MY STEPS/KMS?
You can log your Steps or Kms in two ways:
- Log your steps manually
- Link your page to a fitness tracker or app
Log your steps manually: To log manually, you can log-in to your online fundraising page and head to ‘My Fitness Activity’ to record your activity. You have to convert your kilometers to steps here before you log manually. You can update your activity daily or weekly as you want.
Link your page to a fitness tracker or app: We are linked to FitBit, mapmyfitness and Strava to automatically sync with your fundraising page and add to your kilometres tracker each time you record an activity. You can find more detailed information on this connection with your fitness app by clicking on the link below https://support.funraisin.co/blog/telling-fundraisers-how-to-connect-their-fitness-apps
You can use your smartphone to download FitBit, mapmyfitness or Strava to get started. After creating an account with your preferred app,login to your 1M Steps account and head to the ‘My Fitness Activity’ tab to connect to your fitness app.
Please allow 24 hours for your activity to show up on your fundraising page
HOW CAN I MEASURE MY STEPS OR KMS?
In case you don’t want to use a fitness app then you can calculate your Kms/steps based on an hour of walking, running or doing any of your favorite sports or physical activity that helps you to measure distance and manually log in to your account under ‘my fitness activity’. For example, An hour and 40 mins walk or 8kms walk covers an average of 10,000 steps, 40 mins running covers an average of 6.4 kms or 40 mins Swimming covers an average of 1.93Kms.
HOW CAN I TRACK MY ACTIVITY ON A WHEELCHAIR?
There might a device that you are already using to track your physical activity. If this method is working for you to estimate your activity via kms covered or steps, you can use your existing trackers. If the device measures in kms then you can convert them into steps and manually log in your account under ‘my fitness activity’.
Alternatively, an odometer which can be purchased from a cycle or sports equipment store can be attached to the wheelchair and will monitor the distance covered each day or else you can calculate your minutes of moderate/vigorous activity as below and manually login in your fundraising page:
- 10 minutes of moderate intensity activity covers 1000 steps or 0.8 kms
- 10 minutes of high intensity activity covers 2000 steps 1.44 kms
WHEN CAN I START RECORDING MY STEPS/KMS?
You can start recording your steps/Kms from 9th June till 3rd December 2021
FUNDRAISING
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GOES THAT I RAISE?
Every penny that you raise goes towards the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform supporting people affected by MS.
The European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (EMSP) is a Pan-European umbrella organization with over 30 years of expertise. Through patient involvement in research and data collection EMSP influences European policies with evidence to meet the needs of people affected by MS in Europe. We develop European projects fighting for access to high-quality equitable treatment, care and employment.
Thank you for helping EMSP and its member organizations to ensure that more than 1 Million people living with MS in Europe, have a real voice in determining their own priorities.
HOW DO I FUNDRAISE?
You can take your fundraising to the next level and make every step or kms count. We would request you to promote your progress in social media channels or write a blog to keep you friends and your network updated. You can find creative ways and build your own ideas of fundraising while completing you steps. Don’t forget to write to us about your creative ideas at office.manager@emsp.org
HOW DO I UPDATE MY FUNDRAISING GOAL?
Login to your 1 Million Steps account and head to your dashboard. Click on ‘Edit my page’ and update your fundraising goal.
