Need a push to get fit?

Rockford (Ill.) Register Star: Pat Quinn walked across Illinois in 2001 to promote access to affordable health care. This year the Illinois governor hopes to get Illinoisans moving so that they can improve their own health.

The governor launched the Walk Across Illinois Challenge, a challenge open to all state residents.

Quinn’s 2001 walk was 167 miles, a journey that started on the banks of the Mississippi River in Rock Island and ended on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago. The challenge is to get Illinois residents to walk 167 miles during the year, which would be about a half-mile a day taking a few days off here and there.

The website also lists other activities and how long you would have to do them to get your miles in.

You can go to WalkAcrossIllinois.org to register and log your miles. Actually, the website does more than log your miles. It shows you where you’d be if you had started walking from Rock Island and gives you some history of the towns along the way.

If you don’t have a computer, call the lieutenant governor’s office at 312-814-5220 or write to the Office of the Lt. Governor, 214 State Capitol, Springfield, IL 62706.

You’ll be sent a kit to help you track your miles.

Those who complete the challenge will receive a certificate from the governor. More importantly, you’ll be a bit healthier.

The governor also created the Governor’s Council on Health and Fitness to find practical ways for people to live healthier.

Illinoisans need all the help and motivation they can get.