American Cancer Society launches Fit2Be step challenge

The American Cancer Society launched its 2026 Fit2Be Cancer Free Step Challenge on May 13, according to the organization’s campaign pages and posts highlighted by OncoDaily. The program is a virtual workplace activity and fundraising campaign that asks executives and employees to log steps and other activity while raising awareness about cancer prevention. The society says the challenge is designed to engage companies nationally through a shared leaderboard, interactive milestones and fundraising tools. ### When did the 2026 challenge begin, and how long does it run? May 12 marked the start of the 2026 cycle on the American Cancer Society’s registration page, which says the event opens with a one-day CEO Challenge running from midnight to 11:59 p.m. that day. The same page says the employee portion runs for two weeks, from May 12 through May 26. May 13 was the public kickoff date cited in OncoDaily’s coverage, which quoted the American Cancer Society as saying the “2026 Fit2Be Cancer Free Step Challenge kicks off today” and described CEOs across the country leading the way. (cancer.org) The difference appears to reflect a May 12 challenge start and May 13 public launch coverage. ### What is Fit2Be asking participants to do? (raiseyourway.donordrive.com) The American Cancer Society describes Fit2Be Cancer Free as a virtual fundraising and activity challenge for workplaces. On its partner page, the organization says participants move through an interactive map with impact milestones and a live chat feature. The society’s employee-engagement page says the program is built as a mobile step challenge that moves users through the history of cancer while helping companies meet charitable giving goals. (oncodaily.com) A separate local page for Colorado says the challenge is powered by MoveSpring, a fitness challenge platform. ### Who is the campaign aimed at? CEOs, executives and employees are the core audience for the campaign, according to the American Cancer Society’s Fit2Be and CEOs Against Cancer pages. (cancer.org) The organization says the challenge is intended to promote healthy activity in the workplace while raising money to help end cancer. Companies can compete internally and compare their results with other organizations on a broader leaderboard, according to the registration page. (cancer.org) That page says employees compete within their company but can also see how their company is stacking up against others. ### What numbers show the scale of the program? The 2024 Fit2Be snapshot posted by a CEOs Against Cancer Florida page listed 2,728,056,527 total steps, 21,067 participants and 1,211,709 total miles. (cancer.org) The page presents those figures as the prior year’s benchmark for the national step challenge. Those totals were not repeated on the main national Fit2Be page in the search results reviewed for this report, but they offer the clearest published measure of the program’s recent scale. (raiseyourway.donordrive.com) ### How are participants framing the challenge this year? OncoDaily’s May 13 item said participants were joining in honor or memory of people affected by cancer and quoted supporters describing the event as a way to recognize those who have faced a diagnosis while promoting prevention for future generations. (ceosagainstcancerfl.org) Shane Jacobson, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, also posted about taking part in the challenge from the ACS CAN office in Washington, according to a separate OncoDaily item published May 13. (cancer.org) ### Where can people still follow or join the effort? The American Cancer Society’s registration page says the employee challenge continues through May 26, and the organization’s Fit2Be pages remain live with sign-up and contact information. (oncodaily.com) OncoDaily also maintains a tag page tracking Fit2Be-related updates published on May 13. (raiseyourway.donordrive.com) (oncodaily.com)