Planning your own 2025 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

• Invite Stanford colleagues in your area to meet up and walk together. Pro tip: Use the #remote-employees Slack channel to connect with other employees near you and share information about your remote walk. Some cities, including Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Seattle, even have their own designated channels for Stanford employees based there.
• Identify an appropriate route and starting location. Your route should consist of a one-half- to one-mile loop that is safe and accessible. Read more about making your walk inclusive below.
• Schedule your walk. Time your walk to coincide with the on-site event or choose another time that works better for you and your colleagues if need be.
• Spread the word! Share information about your walk in your team meetings, and ask your co-workers and managers to help promote your walk.

Make your event truly inclusive

Make your event inviting to all and include ways for everyone to participate. Someone in your group may have a — visible or invisible disability that makes it difficult or impossible for them 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 stair-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. Let people know what to expect in advance.
• 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

• Before you set off on your walk, do these easy warm-up exercises. (Get text-only version.)
• Take photos during your walk and share them with your colleagues after the event. We’d love to see your photos too and, with your permission, we may use them on our websites.
• 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.
• For added fun, submit photos of your remote walk before midnight PT on May 23 for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card by entering the raffle.*

*Gift cards are subject to tax.