Acromegaly Walk Around the World

Every Step Counts. Every / Kilometer Matters. Together, We Go Further.

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Acromegaly Walk Around the World is a virtual awareness walkathon that invites participants to turn their everyday steps into a shared global journey while helping raise awareness for Acromegaly, a rare, slow-developing hormonal disorder affecting an estimated 5.9 to 14 people per 100,000 worldwide—less than 0.01% (0.0059% to 0.014%) of the global population. As individuals and teams log miles/kilometers over time, their progress collectively adds up to the distance it takes to circle the Earth—symbolically traveling across continents, cultures, and communities united by a common purpose. Along the way, participants help expand understanding, share educational resources from AcromegalyCommunity.org, and strengthen support for those living with this condition—proving that every step makes a meaningful difference

Beginning January 1, join the Acromegaly Community as we work together to walk, run, or move 24,901 miles / 40,075 kilometers around the world in one year!

Whether your personal goal is one mile a day, a few steps at a time, or simply moving a little more than yesterday, every contribution brings us closer to our collective goal. This initiative is about more than miles. It's about building healthy habits, supporting one another, celebrating personal achievements, and raising awareness of acromegaly. Throughout the year, we'll share participant stories, celebrate milestones, and highlight our collective progress as we virtually make our way around the world.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of fitness level or mobility. Set a goal that works for you, move at your own pace, and celebrate your progress along the way. We encourage participants to invite friends, family, and community members to join the journey and help spread awareness of acromegaly.

Together we can turn rare into resilient, and small steps into something extraordinary!

Tools

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Participants log miles through daily activities like walking, running, or hiking. Miles are tracked via apps, fitness trackers, or manual logs. The idea is to accumulate distance over time until reaching the goal—“walking around the world.”

  • To walk around the Earth once at the equator, you’d need to cover about 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers).

  • We will collectively be walking 24,901 miles / 40,075 kilometers in a year. That means if 70 people participate, each one would have to walk a little less than 1 mi or 1.6 km a day for us to meet our goal. If we have more people participating, or people walk farther, maybe we’ll make it around the world twice in a year!

  • Yes! The purpose of the walk is to build awareness, strengthen community, and create healthy habits for patients with acromegaly. We recognize that everyone is starting from a different place with their own health and their own acromegaly journey and we encourage each participant to pick activities to increase movement that is healthy for them. While we’re calling this a walk, we want to encourage our community members who are unable to walk or find other forms of exercise to be healthier for them to join us! Our quick and easy form for entering your distance every day you participate includes links to converting other activities like rowing, weightlifting, yoga, or event housework.

  • There is no set distance for each person, you set your own goal. Our example of 1/mi or 1.6 km is just an example. For some people that may be more than is medically recommended, and for others that may be less than they already do on a daily basis. We also recognize for some people, exercising daily may not be advisable, and that's ok. The goal you set is an average, and the important thing is to set a goal that is healthy and achievable for you. We also encourage people who can’t walk to join us and use our conversion charts to participate in ways that are healthy for you. If you’re unsure what a healthy goal is for you as an individual, we recommend consulting your doctor and discussing it with them.

  • You can log your distance each day you participate on the simple Google form that we will send you once you sign up. It should take less than a minute a day.

  • No! Friends, family members, community members, medical personnel, and anyone else who wants to help raise awareness are all welcome and encouraged to participate!

  • That’s ok! We understand not everyone can participate in the walk every day. For some people this may be every other day, others may take breaks for medical or other life reasons. The important thing is to get back into the habit as soon as it’s healthy for you! If you miss a day (or longer) you don’t mark the mi/km you didn't walk, but you can pick back up towards our collective goal as soon as you’re ready (and it’s medically advisable.) You will not lose your place in the team, and the distance you walked before/ after the time you missed will still count.

  • Absolutely! We encourage everyone to join the walk, even if you’re joining late. You can sign up whenever you’re ready to start and enter your distance each day you participate after that in our easy 1 minute google form.

  • No! Your distance won’t count until the walk starts on January 1st, but we recommend you start building the habit now, so it will be easier for you to keep up with a routine you already have when the walk gets going.

  • No. This is not a competition. We are each in different places in our journey with this disease and each have different capabilities. We will not be comparing participants in any way, and there will be no prizes. We encourage each participant to not only participate in the kinds of activities and amount that is healthiest for them, but to also encourage their fellow participants towards our shared goal with kind supportive understanding for our differences. Anyone not participating in this spirit may be asked to leave the event.

  • Throughout the walk we will highlight acromegaly patients who are consistently participating and who wish to be featured. No participants will be highlighted without their express consent and permission. Depending on how many people participate in the walk, and how many people would like to be featured, we may or may not be able to highlight everyone who would like to be featured. Those who are highlighted will be able to share their own short stories about their acromegaly journey and what they are achieving with the walk, and will also have the option to share their name and photo, or be highlighted anonymously, depending on what's comfortable for them.

  • Only share information about yourself and only photos and information you are comfortable with being public (and are legally allowed to be shared where you live.) Photos or information about other participants may not be shared publicly, and doing so can lead to removal from the walk. Photos and information may be held on the server of whatever social media platform you're using.

  • If you have questions about the Acromegaly Walk Around the World, the disease of acromegaly, or the acromegaly community support group you can contact us at Comments@acromegalycommunity.org or visit us at acromegalycommunity.org

  • Sign up https://tinyurl.com/acrowalksignup and you can start sharing about the walk and getting ready for our January 1st kickoff today!