Help take Lancashire around the world

People in Rossendale are being encouraged to run, hop, skip, bounce, cycle, skate, swim or even cartwheel for a mile on Friday (May 18).

The aim is to get at least 24,901 people in Lancashire to take part in Your Mile Your Way challenge – and complete the amount of miles it would take to travel around the world.

People can pledge to complete their mile how they choose but the council and Rossendale Leisure Trust are also holding free activities.

Staff will be able to cycle a mile on an exercise bike at the council offices at Futures Park and Henrietta Street. Pupils from St Saviour’s Primary School will be going for a walk in Stubbylee Park, Bacup, on Friday morning while people can join a one-mile walk in the park at 12.30pm.

Free activities are also taking place throughout the day at the Adrenaline Centre in Haslingden and Marl Pits Leisure Centre in Rawtenstall. These include a danceathon, a tai chi walk, an outdoor spinning session and line dancing.

Sam Plum, Director of Communities at Rossendale Council, said:

Your Mile Your Way is a fun way to get active. People of all ages can take part whether that’s parents and children walking to school, getting out with the dog, meeting friends for a swim or having a go at something completely different.

You don’t have to spend a penny to take part and we are also running several activities which are a great way to meet new people and find out more about what‘s on offer at the borough’s leisure centres.

Figures show that 23 per cent of adults in Lancashire, around 218,000 people, do less than 30 minutes of moderate activity a week, well short of the recommended 150 minutes.

Your Mile Your Way is being coordinated by Lancashire County Council as part of the Active Lives and Healthy Weight programme to tackle obesity and encourage people to do more exercise.

It is supported by comedian and Phoenix Nights star Ted Robbins who shed more than four stone and became a gym regular after surviving an on-stage heart attack.

It took a cardiac arrest for me to look at my life differently. But during my recovery I started doing short daily walks which doctors recommended to get my strength back up.

“I started off doing a walk around the hospital ward, then a 15-minute walk, then half an hour and now I have built up to a couple of miles. The great thing is I enjoy it and I look and feel younger than I have for ages.

Find out what’s happening and register your mile on the Your Mile Your Way website.

For information on the leisure centre events contact Rossendale Leisure Trust on 01705 226 850.