Active Wellbeing Autumn Wrap Up 

Congratulations to everyone who took part in our first Active Wellbeing Autumn challenge. Find out who was sipping coffee and eating a croissant, first.

Active Wellbeing is now in its seventh year, having grown both in size and popularity every year since it was launched as a platform to help the civil service and public sector to get more active.  

Due, in part, to its ever-increasing reach, the idea to host an autumn version of Active Wellbeing, at a time of year when so many people struggle to stay active and motivated, was an easy decision to make. 

What is Active Wellbeing Autumn? 

Throughout the month of September participants took part in loads of special events and activities to stay active and energised. CSSC provided funding for workplaces and participants to try and experience classes, courses, walks and talks.  

Our inaugural Active Wellbeing Autumn (AWA) culminated with a weeklong step challenge, encouraging everyone to log their walking, cycling, swimming, running or rolling activity every day, to see how far their team could travel in a week. To give participants something to aim for we challenged everyone to travel virtually from London to Paris, in honour of this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. Along the way we gave out loads of prizes and freebies, like free 5-day leisure centre passes, bike security register vouchers, and sports retail vouchers to keep everyone motivated and inspired.  

The results were phenomenal with thousands of you taking part in hundreds of teams, with some competing to be the first to cross the finish line, while others were happy to challenge themselves and have some fun.  

Why Active Wellbeing Autumn? 

Helping members of the civil service and public sector to stay active during the challenging times and restrictions that autumn and winter can bring, was our primary focus with launching Active Wellbeing at this time of year. But that only tells part of the story.  

As we got to know our participants throughout the month, more and more of them shared their reasons for taking part and the benefits they felt from being involved. Many were using AWA as an excuse to take a walk at lunchtime for a much-needed screen break. Others were reaching out to friends and colleagues to share their progress. And some were even getting back into a long-forgotten sport they loved long ago. 

Whatever the motivation, AWA provided a fantastic jumping off point for increasing physical activity, changing routines, having fun and inspiring confidence.  

Active Wellbeing Autumn by Numbers 

As our first Active Wellbeing event held in the autumn, we weren’t sure how many of you would take part, but we were blown away by your enthusiasm, energy and engagement.  

• 5005 participants 

• 230,561 kilometres travelled 

• Over 330 million steps logged 

• 8km travelled per person 

• Over 1,000 teams taking part 

• 131 teams completed the London to Paris challenge 

Over 5,000 people joined in, coming from more than 75 departments across the country. Understandably, walking proved to be the most popular activity, closely followed by cycling, running, swimming and wheeling.  

The Post Challenge Analysis

The overwhelming feedback from participants who took part in the survey was how much fun they had. How easy it was to take part and how proud they were of their progress and step count increase.  

By entering into the spirit of the competition, it maximised their enjoyment and collaboration. Some are promising themselves new healthy habits, and some are excited to hear what’s coming up in February for Active Wellbeing 2025. More information coming soon!