AMHERST, N.Y. — There's nothing better than a friendly competition. Especially with two towns that have the same name as you.
Three Amhersts, one challenge. That's what the Amherst to Amherst Walking Competition includes.
Lisa Kistner from Amherst, N.Y., Rachel O'Sullivan from Amherst N.H. and Allison Watson from Amherst, Nova Scotia are the three ladies in charge of this competition.
"I'm really grateful that I've had the opportunity to meet these lovely young women and to see their great ideas and to grab hold of the enthusiasm that they have," said Lisa Kistner, assistant to the supervisor of the Town of Amherst, N.Y.
Their towns and their quest for a friendly competition and a little fresh air have brought them together for the Amherst to Amherst Walking Challenge.
So the challenge works like this. Amherstians are invited to pick a time to go out and walk. Then they report their mileage, and the Amherst with the most miles at the end of the month can declare victory.
"So we feel that this is probably the hardest month of the year for people to get moving," said Kistner. "So this is a great idea to embrace and gets people some fresh air and get rid of that winter sluggishness."
It was Allison Watson, the Active Living Coordinator of Amherst, Nova Scotia who took the first step to take this challenge international. She was inspired by an event traditionally held as part of her town's Winter Carnival.
She reached out to any Amhersts she could find. She found about 14, but New York and New Hampshire are the ones who answered the call. All three cities have already seen a big response.
"Personally, people have been yelling their distances to me, even though I have no way of recording them," said Watson. " So I'm just telling them to all email me later while I'm at work, so I can actually record them rather than just yelling numbers at me."
"People are really excited," said Rachel O'Sullivan, program coordinator of the Amherst, New Hampshire Parks and Recreation Department. "We've had a way bigger turnout and questions and calls and the Strava account that we created to help keep track that I ever could have imagined that we all though was possible."
"It's been really encouraging to see people here really love a competition with Americans," Watson said. "I don't know what it is, but we'd like to beat Americans at things. So I think that's part of it."
And next year, the three women are already planning to keep this going next year, hopefully getting more Amhersts on board. Wherever they are, they say it's a great place to call home.
"It's so cool to be able to explore and look at the similarities or at least things that connect us in whatever way that may be," O'Sullivan said.
You can follow all this on the Amherst to Amherst Walking Challenge Facebook page. Just click here to head over to that link.
And wherever you are, it's not a bad idea to get out and get a little exercise. You may even try a challenge of your own.