Synopsis
NHS England is set to launch a scheme early next year that will reward people for walking roughly 30 minutes a day, which adds up to a marathon a month. Users will log walks through a phone or smartwatch and become eligible for incentives and discounts. The scheme, developed with Great North Run founder Sir Brendan Foster, aims to sign up over 100,000 people.
iStock NHS England to pay you to walk 30 mins a day. The NHS is getting into the rewards business, and all it wants in return is 30 minutes of your day.
NHS England is set to launch a new scheme early next year that will give people incentives and discounts for walking every single day, the BBC first reported. The idea is simple: walk for around half an hour a day, every day for a month, and you will have covered roughly 26 miles, the same distance as a marathon. Do that, and you become eligible for rewards.
It is being called a “marathon a month” challenge, and according to the BBC, it is the first time a scheme backed by the health service has offered people something tangible in return for exercising.
How it works
Participants will log their walks through their phone, a smartwatch, or an online platform. The daily distance does not have to be covered all at once. Thirty minutes spread across the day counts, which means a walk to the station in the morning and a short evening stroll could together tick the box.
Hit the target every day for a month and the NHS says you will be eligible for rewards. The exact nature of those rewards has not been confirmed yet, with full details expected in the coming months. What has been indicated, per the BBC’s reporting, is that incentives and discounts are on the table, with vouchers among the options being explored. Sir Keith Mills, founder of Air M
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