‘Treadmill Tuesday’: YMCAs across Tampa Bay compete to see which one can log the most miles

TAMPA, Fla. - It’s "Treadmill Tuesday," which means YMCAs across the region have one goal: to have the most people running or walking for 12 hours straight.

For people all over the world celebrating Mardi Gras, Tuesday is "Fat Tuesday" -- a day of massive celebrations before the beginning of Lent. However, YMCAs in Tampa Bay are hosting the opposite. It's an annual, all-day event promoting a friendly competition to see who can log the most treadmill miles. 

On Feb. 25, the YMCAs in the Bay Area are competing against the YMCAs in the Suncoast region. 

"It's just an opportunity to engage our community, encourage our folks to come out, do a little physical activity for the day," said Josh Sandoval, senior wellness director for the Spurlino Family YMCA at Big Bend Road. "We're all in it together."

He said the treadmill is very "scale-able" to all fitness levels. 

"Whether you're very fit and you want to come in for a good, hard run," Sandoval explained, "or if you're brand-new and you want to come in and escape the elements of the outdoors."

Even though "Treadmill Tuesday" a friendly competition between both regions in Florida, "everyone wins." If you're competing, one of the wellness coaches will greet members as they enter, and give them an orientation. Employees will get their distance at the end of their run. 

"At the end of the day, we're just trying to encourage the benefits of moving," Sandoval said. "Whether you run or walk, it's all beneficial to your health."