(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) — Wellmark® Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® announces the return of the Set the Pace Challenge during the Grand Blue Mile. This year, registrants can participate virtually or in person on April 26 in downtown Des Moines, coinciding with the 112th edition of the Drake Relays presented by Xtream® powered by Mediacom®. The challenge encourages Iowans to develop sustainable, healthy habits to adopt throughout 2022.

As part of the challenge, the community with the highest percentage of its residents participating in the in person or virtual Grand Blue Mile — measured by the number of registrants for a given ZIP code against its total population — will be awarded $10,000 to use on a project that promotes safe, inclusive and accessible places in which to be active, such as a park, playground or trail. Additional information and resources, including past project videos and a digital toolkit for communities are available here.

“Participating in Wellmark’s Set the Pace Challenge couldn’t be easier this year as we’re giving Iowans the opportunity to engage in the setting that suits them best — in person or virtually,” said Chris Verlengia, Wellmark’s marketing activation & alliance manager and Grand Blue Mile co-race director. “Wellmark constantly strives to improve community health and this challenge provides a tremendous incentive for Iowans to enjoy a family-friendly physical activity, while working together to create inclusive and accessible green spaces, right in their own hometowns.”

Register today: Registration for the 2022 virtual Grand Blue Mile presented by Wellmark is now open at grandbluemile.com. Registration is $15 for youth and $20 for adults. As part of Wellmark’s commitment to improving the health of Iowans, all proceeds benefit Iowa Kidstrong youth fitness programs and support student participation in the annual Drake Relays.