Civil servants have stepped up and put their best feet forward to get healthy in the run-up to Christmas.

Government workers completed a nine-week programme that measured every step they took — and managed to clock up more than 300 million strides altogether.

More than 1,000 teams took part globally in the Virgin Pulse Go challenge, and three Bermuda teams managed to score in the top 40.

Congratulating participants, David Burt said: “In the 2017 and 2018 Throne speeches, the Public Service was tasked with implementing an employee wellness programme, and as a result, an employee wellness committee was formed in May 2018.

“This year, we had three Bermuda teams who did exceptionally well and earned a ranking in the top 40 out of 1,086 teams that competed globally. That is impressive, and I’m pleased to recognise their accomplishments.

“Each of the participants are winners and true champions and should be incredibly proud of the personal goals they accomplished. They have raised the health and fitness bar not just for the Public Service but for all of Bermuda.”

Derrick Binns, the head of the Public Service, added: “One of the key initiatives of the employee wellness programme was to provide our employees with the tools to assist in managing stress and work-life balance.

“As an organisation, the Government of Bermuda walked a total of 307,748,648 steps — with nine Bermuda teams ranking among the Top 100 teams in competition worldwide.

“We congratulate each of those members of the service who took part in this innovative and engaging wellness initiative.”

Yolanda Johnstone, who works in the Ministry of Transport, took the most individual steps, clocking up an impressive 2,762,246 total steps. Shawne Stephens, from the Ministry of the Economy and Labour, was close behind on 2,726,324 total steps, while Lisa Smith, also from the Ministry of Transport, came in third place with 2,349,951 steps.