Over one billion steps for education: Walking Month 2026 results
Every year, Walking Month proves that when a community comes together around a cause, its impact can go far beyond the number of steps logged in an app.
For 32 days, thousands of people chose to turn walking, running or moving in a wheelchair into an act of solidarity. Every registration contributed to a shared goal: supporting access to education for children and young people in rural communities across Cluj County through Educalise's "Keeping Education Moving" project.
The 2026 edition brought together participants from companies, organizations, groups of friends and families, once again demonstrating that movement can unite people and create meaningful change. And the results are, without a doubt, impressive.
Walking Month 2026 at a Glance
- 3,680 participants
- 1,053,586,651 steps
- Over 800,000 kilometers covered (almost 19,000 marathons)
- An average of almost 8,950 steps a day for each participant
- RON 619,000 raised to support education for young people in rural communities
The Walking Month 2026 Champions
1. Walkers Individual
The Individual Walkers category was decided by only a handful of steps.
🥇 Ana Maria Boureghdad and Cosmina Olosutean shared first place, each with 799,999 steps.
🥈 Andrei Crecan took second place with 799,995 steps, just four steps behind the leaders.
🥉 Ioana Anca Rusu completed the podium with 799,988 steps, only 11 steps behind first place.
A fost, pe departe, una dintre cele mai strânse competiții din istoria Walking Month.
2. Walkers Teams
Team performances were equally impressive.
4-member teams
- 🥇 Maratoniștii EMR – 3,622,736 steps
- 🥈 PuellaeFortes – 3,395,593 steps
- 🥉 Six Pack – 3,387,190 steps
3-member teams
- 🥇 MEEM – 2,689,922 steps
2-member teams
- 🥇 Friends – 1,814,728 steps
3. Superwalkers Individual
In the category dedicated to the most ambitious participants, the results were outstanding:
- 🥇 Victor Szinner – 1,849,782 steps
- 🥈 Eleonora Comsa – 1,517,526 steps
- 🥉 Florin Goia – 1,491,457 steps
A podium built on plenty of discipline, perseverance and, probably, quite a few extra walks at the end of the day.
4. Superwalkers Teams
- 🥇 The Quad Stars – 4,732,024 steps
- 🥈 Night of the Walking Data 2 – 4,218,916 steps
These results demonstrate what can happen when individual motivation becomes a team goal.
5. Mobility - a more accessible competition for everyone
The 2026 edition brought an important first for Walking Month: an accessibility feature and a dedicated category for wheelchair users, so even more people could join the experience and support the cause we share.
The first winner of the Mobility category is Bogdan Cioltea, who covered 357 kilometers in a wheelchair, equivalent to 446,250 steps under the competition rules (1 kilometer = 1,250 steps).
His achievement represents more than a result on the leaderboard. It shows how Walking Month continues to become a more inclusive and accessible competition for everyone.
RON 619,000 Raised to Keep Education Moving
The most important outcome of this year's edition is not reflected in a ranking table, but in the impact it will have on the community.
Thanks to you, RON 619,000 was raised for the “Move for Education” project, run by Educalise.
Through this project, 500 students from five rural communities in Cluj County will benefit from 250 hours of practical workshops and alternative education activities. They will gain access to information, experiences and tools that will help them make informed decisions, develop essential life skills and build a future with more opportunities.
If you’d like to learn more about the program, we invite you to read this article.
For participants, Walking Month 2026 came to an end after 32 days. For the 500 students, however, the steps taken this summer mark the beginning of a new journey.
A journey made possible by a community that has shown once again that, when we take steps together, we can go much further.