It's 1,000 steps at the WFCU Centre for a good cause.
The 10th annual iClimb event is taking place Wednesday to raise funds for mental health and counselling programs at United Way Windsor-Essex.
Participants go up and down the steps in the main bowl and raise pledges.
About 2,250 people had signed up to take part in the fundraiser including 2,000 students, but with school buses being cancelled Wednesday morning, organizers are worried about a low turnout.
But Students at nearby St. Joseph's High School didn't let a few centimetres of snow stop them. They decided to walk to the WFCU Centre and then take part in the event.
Grade 11 student Elena Moamar says the walk over was already a challenge.
"I'm freezing and my thighs are frozen and I feel so tired right now, but I feel like I want to be more healthy," she says.
Students from St. Joseph's High School walk to the WFCU Centre to take part in iClimb. February 27, 2019 (Photo by AM800's Teresinha Medeiros)
Mike Tiplady has been taking part in the event for four years and knows he will feel it for a few days afterwards.
"It's tiring," he says. "You get tired very early but you can keep going, it is easy to push through and then you are tired for about three, four days."
United Way Communications Manager Karen Brady says mental health and physical health go hand-in-hand.
"It is all about mental health through physical fitness," says Brady. "It is one of those barriers to mental health is if you stay physically active, so we want to do something that is fun but is also for a good cause."
In previous years, about $55,000 was raised in the event.