Every day, they strapped on pedometers and laced up comfortable shoes. And then they walked, and walked and walked.

Nearly 6,000 Metro Atlantans accepted the Walk There Challenge, a month-long, region-wide event designed to improve their health and the region’s air quality while reducing driving and traffic congestion. It was a united effort of 10 metro Atlanta organizations that work year round to promote alternatives to the single car commute.

Participants logged an amazing total of more than 456 million steps. Considering the average person covers one mile in 2,000 steps, the Walk There Challenge participants walked 228,218 miles, which would span the globe at the equator nine times. They walked the distance from New York to Los Angeles 92.6 times. They covered nearly 96 percent of the distance between the Earth and the moon.

“Walking is the simplest mode of transportation, yet we do less of it than ever. Many trips can be taken on foot rather than behind the wheel,” said Kevin Green, executive director of The Clean Air Campaign. “When you walk, you improve your health, you aren’t polluting the air and you are not contributing to traffic congestion.”

Marietta resident, Trina Revels, is the grand prize winner in the Cobb Rides district. She logged 833,890 steps in one month. Trina works as a recruiting manager for Ryla Teleservices and spends 95 percent of her day on her feet, walking among Ryla’s three buildings.

Each of the top walkers from 10 areas across the region won an overnight stay for two at The Inn at Serenbe. In addition, every week during the challenge, two individuals from each area were randomly selected to win an iPod shuffle.

The 2008 Walk There Challenge winners, and the presenting employer service organizations are:

Trina Revels -- CobbRides

Melanie Balish -- ASAP+

Himanshu Dave – Hartsfield Area Transportation Management Association

Soranarom Kumsaitona – Perimeter Transportation Coalition

Brett Wimbish – Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association

Jinah Lee – Downtown Transportation Management Association

Jeff Kamin – Commuter Club

Julie Foanio – Midtown Transportation Solutions

Leita Young – Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association

Shar Mallory (public sector) – The Clean Air Campaign

Carl Winter (private sector) -- The Clean Air Campaign

One of the winners, Shar Mallory, national client relationship manager for Reed Business in Norcross, said she had already started walking two weeks before the challenge began and the event offered her the motivation to continue.

“I have two chocolate labs and they have to go walking,” said Mallory, who said she has lost 11 inches around the waist since she began her regimen. “I get up and do 3 to 5 miles in the morning and 3 to 4 times a week, I go walking at lunch. I walk to Target to shop. My kids have soccer practices and I walk during those.”

Mallory is one of at least four participants in the Walk There Challenge who personally logged more than 1 million steps. That is about 500 miles.

Walk There Challenge participants were resourceful, rarely missing opportunities to log steps. Himanshu Dave of Eagle Security Services, the Hartsfield Area TMA winner, avoids the train and automated people mover while providing customer service to airport passengers. He prefers to propel himself.

Studies suggest that 10,000 steps per day is a worthy goal. Many metro Atlantans are likely to discover they are walking only 900 to 3,000 steps daily.

The Metro Atlanta Walk There Challenge draws on the strengths of the 10 organizations in metro Atlanta working to reduce traffic congestion by increasing the use of commute alternatives. These organizations include The Clean Air Campaign, ASAP+, Buckhead Area TMA, Clifton Corridor TMA, CobbRides, Commuter Club, Downtown TMA, Hartsfield Area TMA, Midtown Transportation Solutions and the Perimeter Transportation Coalition.