RED (Rise Every Day) January is a nationwide community initiative, open to all and completely free. Its philosophy is to empower all of us to stay active in the winter when there is evidence of lower activity levels, mood and energy.
Most people, like Stephanie from Aberdeen, experience a significant improvement in happiness and a reduction in anxiety during the month.
Stephanie explains why RED January has been important to her.
Why do you take part in RED January?
There’s so many reasons to get involved. Personally I really struggle with January. I’m a makeup artist, December is ridiculously busy for me. I’m always unwell towards the end of December and January hits me like a tonne of bricks.
I think January can be the same for a lot of people, it can be quite overwhelming. You feel like you should have new targets and goals but you often feel quite run down, the weather is normally rubbish. Usually in January if I have half an hour free to either lie on the couch with the dog or go out for a walk, I’m choosing to lie on the couch with the dog.
But I know which one is better for me and doing RED January keeps you accountable and ultimately helps you feel better. In the years where I’ve challenged myself to hit certain marks it is lovely to see the community that RED creates. People encouraging each other, people message me saying ‘you’ve inspired me to go for a walk’ it’s lovely.
How have you completed your miles for RED?Walking is my favourite form of exercise. Being in Scotland we’re so lucky with the walks we can go on, I like to just switch off when I’m out. It’s total escapism for me.
The first year I did RED January I did 100 miles, then the next year I said I’ll just go for 200 miles. My husband said ‘do you realise how many miles you’ll need to walk a day’, I was saying ‘oh it’ll be fine’ and when I worked out how many I’d have to do each day it was a lot!
I was quite a bit behind my target near the end of the month. So in true RED spirit I organised a big group walk in Aberdeen to catch up. I managed to reach the target and raise a good amount of money so I really felt like I’d accomplished something.
What would you say to anyone who is struggling to get active?Getting out of the door is the hardest part. I haven’t been able to do it as much as I’d hoped this year. As a result I’ve really noticed a difference. I don’t feel as positive as I did last year and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. There are days where you don’t feel like going outside but you’ll always feel better after doing it.
Find out more
About RED January
