During the legislative session, Regence BlueCross BlueShield supplied lawmakers with pedometers and sponsored a "Legislators on the Move" competition to encourage exercise in the state.

Kathleen Murphy, a company assistant vice president, said between Jan. 21 and March 2, Utah's 104 lawmakers took more than 6.7 million combined steps, which is about 3,300 miles - almost the distance from New York to London.

Regence awarded a grand prize of $5,000 to the lawmaker who took the most steps overall, Rep. Neal Hendrickson, D-West Valley City, who took more than 800,000 of those total steps, or 415 miles.

Hendrickson - a 15-year veteran of the Legislature and school bus driver - donated the check to his neighborhood's Pioneer Elementary School.

"Tuesday afternoon toward the end of the day, [Neal] walked into my office looking so serious," said Pioneer Elementary Principal Julie Lorentzon. "Then he asked if I'd like $5,000, and I said, 'Absolutely.' "

Lorentzon added that the school had just purchased a new reading program to replace outdated books, which took a big chunk of money from the school's budget. She said before the check came, she was worried they weren't going to have enough money to fulfill the school's other needs, including physical education equipment like balls, hula hoops, jump ropes and scooters.

"There was a big need for this," Lorentzon said. "We have some large children, so anything we can do to get these kids more active at school is better."

Hendrickson, whose post-session weight is 10 pounds heavier than the 215 at its beginning, said he was surprised he won the contest because, unlike some of his fellow lawmakers, he didn't make any special efforts to change his exercise habits.

During the session, some lawmakers made a special effort to spread involvement into their home communities.

Although he recognized he would not win the prize money for his school, Rep. David Cox, R-Lehi, encouraged his fifth-grade class at Sego Lily Elementary to come to school on Saturdays to exercise. He said the program was beneficial for the students and it gave him an opportunity to see them while the Legislature was in session.

Schools and their gyms are so overcrowded "the kids can't get P.E., and that's one of the reasons they are going down in their health," Cox said. "If you cover that, they'll do better in tests, and they will think better." More than one of every four of Utah's children and one of every two adults is at an unhealthy weight, while almost 12 percent of children and 20 percent of adults are obese, according to the Utah Department of Health. In addition, the state spent an estimated $167 per person in 2003 on medical-costs related to obesity, according to a study by Trust for America's Health.

Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake City, said he found himself walking a lot more because of the competition.

"I really pay attention to how many steps I'm taking and I walk more because of that awareness," Becker said.

Becker's fellow Democrat, Brad King of Price, agreed and added that his efforts helped him shed six pounds and dropped his blood pressure from 150 to 120. The only drawback, King joked, was that he became addicted to the pedometer.

"I've got shin splints, but I can't stop," he said.

During the final day of the session, King paced the House floor to tack on last-minute steps.

However, some lawmakers became disenchanted with the pedometers after they broke early in the session.

"I didn't think mine was working very good," said Rep. DeMar Bowman, R-Cedar City and a retired Utah Highway Patrol trooper. "I didn't think it made much difference anyway; I walk all I can, but there's not much time up here."

Others, such as Sen. Beverly Evans, R-Altamont, faced unique challenges.

"I've had a hard time just surviving with this thing," Evans said, looking down at a cast around her broken foot. "I should have had [a pedometer] on my wheelchair, I would've racked up miles on that."

As the session drew near to a close and the competition escalated, Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley City, joked about strapping his pedometer to his dog before he found out how lazy his dog was.

Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, who was widely believed to be atop the list, laughed as he accused King of cheating.

"I've seen Representative King shaking his [pedometer] a lot," he said. "And I've seen his intern running laps around the Capitol lately."

Jennifer Cannaday, assistant vice president of BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, said in light of the success and high participation rate, Regence will sponsor the pedometer contest again next year.