Planning your own 2024 Cardinal Walk

If you won’t be in the area for this year’s Cardinal Walk on the Stanford campus, plan a walk with other Stanford colleagues near you, with friends or family, or by yourself. Here are a few tips for organizing a satellite walk with others.

Plan Your Walk

• Connect with other Stanford colleagues in your area and plan to meet and walk together. (Use the #remote-employees Slack channel to connect with other employees who live in your area. Some locations, such as Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Seattle, even have their own channels for Stanford employees based there.)
• Set up a meeting location and time to start the walk. If possible, schedule your walk to coincide with the Cardinal Walk or at a time that works best for you or your team.  
• Identify a safe walking route that is one-half to one mile long.
• Spread the word, share during huddles, and ask co-workers and managers to help promote the walk.

Make Your Event Truly Inclusive

Make your event inviting to everyone and include ways for everyone to participate. Someone in your group may have a disability that makes it difficult or impossible to participate fully in a “walk.” 

To minimize any barriers to participation:

• Choose a place with disabled parking and easy access for the beginning and end of your walk.
• Make sure seating is available — preferably at the beginning and end of the route and along the way, and that bathrooms are conveniently located and wheelchair-accessible.
• Choose a starting area where people can socialize, even if they won’t be walking the route, and consider building in a little time to connect before or after the walk.
• Choose a relatively flat, paved, and step-free route for your walk. If possible, walk the route yourself before the event day to ensure there are no unforeseen obstacles along the way. If there are, let participants know or choose another route.
• Choose a route with easy exits along the way for those who can’t or prefer not to walk the entire route.
• Providing snacks? Make sure there are gluten-free, vegan, and nut-free options.

Walk Day Guidelines

• If you plan to walk with others, arrive promptly at the designated location and time.
• Before you set off on your walk, do these easy warm-up exercises. (Get text-only version.)
• Take photos during your walk and encourage others to do the same to show the breadth of our celebration of wellness and community. (Instructions at right.)
• After your walk, log in to your BeWell account, go to Rewards, and complete the Cardinal Walk survey in the programs section to earn 500 points for participating.

Want to feel more connected to the Cardinal Walk on the Stanford Campus?

Employees who won’t be on campus for this event can also use this link to join the event remotely from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024.