Walking 1200km over 12 months may be a long-term goal, but the benefits felt straight away will help you stay the course.

“We keep going with whatever challenges we  set because we get something out of them, because we feel immediate benefits,” says University of Otago sport and exercise sciences associate professor Elaine Hargreaves.

“It’s about being able to identify that you feel better after every walk. That’s going to keep the motivation going.”

Another tip is to make walking a habit. Just as we associate brushing our teeth at night with going to bed, Hargreaves recommends combining walking with a cue.

That could be going for a walk after lunch every day. Over time, the connection between lunch and walking becomes stronger.

Joining a group can also make it easier to get motivated, Hargreaves says.

A social network of like-minded people doing the challenge, like the Walk1200km Facebook group, is great. It validates the activity, and signing up to do the challenge with others keeps you accountable.

Top motivation take-aways

• Think about the immediate benefits – how you feel better after every walk.
• Make walking a habit, just like brushing your teeth.
• Join the Walk1200km Facebook group.

How to keep track

Smartphones have the technology to record walks. There are also wearable fitness trackers, like smartwatches or heart-rate monitors that have GPS recording capabilities.

Several Walk1200km participants told us they use the ‘Strava’ tracking app, while others like the route planning app ‘Map My Walk’ to keep track of how far they’re travelling.

For one place to log all your distances, the Walk1200km Progress Tracker is your best bet. It will display your accumulated weekly and monthly totals. Stick it in a place where you will see it often.

For those who prefer a digital record, there are plenty of apps and websites that can be linked to your device. You could even set up an Excel spreadsheet.