campus news

UB Step Challenge crushes goals for 10th anniversary

Faculty and staff, students, alumni and more stepped on their own or with a team in a bid for an expanded 10th-anniversary slate of prizes that included a fitness ring, gift cards, UB merch and more.

By JENNA SHALLOE

Published June 2, 2025

Print
“The challenge was a lot of fun, and it definitely motivated me to walk and run more miles than I otherwise would have. ”
Joseph Pautler, principal technology architect
Network and Communications Services

More than 3,400 people recorded more than 680 million steps during April as part of the 10th annual Step Challenge, sponsored by the School of Public Health and Health Professions. This year’s totals surpassed the more than 460 million steps recorded by the nearly 2,200 participants in last year’s challenge.

Step Challenge participants made their way outside — or inside when spring rains made an appearance — upping fitness goals, making connections with walking partners and enjoying the scenic views in their area.

Faculty and staff, students, alumni and more stepped on their own or with a team in a bid for an expanded 10th-anniversary slate of prizes that included a fitness ring, gift cards, UB merch and more.

The Step Challenge is also open to the greater Buffalo community and beyond, with steppers across many states and countries increasing their overall fitness. In fact, the growth in the number of steppers this year came primarily from the UB student population and the community.

“I wasn’t going to join the challenge at first, but by the fourth day my co-workers had talked me into it,” says Joseph Pautler, principal technology architect, Network and Communication Services, and this year’s Most Improved Stepper. “My count was pretty low the first week, since I started late and eased into things.  In subsequent weeks my colleagues and I had a lot of fun watching our team leaderboard and trying to move up. By the final week I realized that it might be possible for me to finish at the top for our departmental team, so I logged more than 60 miles in the final three days of the month, to secure the spot,” Pautler says.

“The challenge was a lot of fun, and it definitely motivated me to walk and run more miles than I otherwise would have.”

Some of the locations — exotic and familar — that participants shared while contributing to the more than 680 million steps taken during the challenge.

Fun facts for Step Challenge 2025

  • 30 days.
  • 3,468 steppers.
  • 200-plus teams.
  • 687,000,000-plus steps.
  • 299,000-plus miles.
  • 250% of challenge goal completed.

The winners

  • Grand prize, one person randomly chosen from the top 15 steppers on the leaderboard: Stephanie Liang.
  • Most improved, the stepper who made the greatest improvement in effort during the challenge: Joe Pautler.
  • Top teams, the 10 teams with the highest average steps per team member: Spring Spring, Step Pharmers, Walking to Win, Retinger Racers, Zee Sisters, Pupper Steppers, The Skalski Duo, Spinkletons, Walkie Talkies and Scrambled Legs.
  • Step Superstars, 10 randomly chosen steppers who took steps each day during the challenge: Michael Pecoraro, Nicholas Whichman, Haowen Hsu, Amanda McCowen, Felice Blackford, Jessica Wang-Strykowski, Katelyn Typhair, Michilena Teixeira, Sue Sturm and Zanyah Agard.