IN January, when Active 2014 launched, our aim was simple:

to encourage Scots to improve their health and wellbeing in the year Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games.

The idea was not to have people running marathons or spending hours every day in the gym, it was all about the smallest of steps to boost levels of activity and lifestyle.

We could never have imagined the extent to which the challenge would be embraced.

Miles have been run and walked, pounds and stones have been lost, and a host of activities, from swimming and athletics to cycling and basketball, have been engaged in by all ages.

Along with our partners NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, SportScotland and Glasgow Life, we have proved that Scots have a healthy attitude to sport.

We told the story of Robert McGregor, from Dumbarton, a porter at Gartnavel Hospital, who was inspired to get active by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Cycle to Work scheme, which gave him the means to buy a new bike.

Less than six months after he started cycling to work and back he had shed four stones.

"I can't believe how taking that first step and buying a bike through the cycle-to-work scheme changed my life," he said.

"It really was just that, a small step to see if I could get into cycling after so many years and it turned out to be the best thing I've ever done."

We have told inspirational stories, such as that of Stephen Morrison, whose own life-transforming leap of faith started with just a few small steps.

The civil servant, from Glasgow, weighed more than 25 stones and had tried and failed to lose weight. All that changed when he bought a pedometer and took part in a step challenge with Job Centre Plus workers.

Now the self-styled Mr Motivator has encouraged hundreds of colleagues to take part in step challenges and charity fundraising events.

"I discovered because I had lost so much weight I wanted to do more things," he said.

"So I took up pilates, yoga and Thai boxing. Then I started running and I now take part in marathons and half marathons."

Stephen is now a lay adviser to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons and regularly speaks at conferences.

Joining forces with Police Scotland, officers have done everything from stopping smoking and hill walking to make a lasting difference to their health.

Glasgow Sergeant Ewen Logie went one better and took on a challenge to exercise every day between the end of the London 2012 Olympics and the start of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

He finished in style by being one of the hand-picked team of officers who accompanied the Queen's Baton on its marathon trip around Scotland in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games, running the equivalent of a half marathon every day he was on duty.

An initiative to tackle teenage obesity was launched by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde this year, targeting 15 to 18-year-olds who wanted help with weight loss and fitness.

Piloting in the north-west of Glasgow and Inverclyde, it offered weight loss classes and up to six months' free gym membership with Glasgow Life.

And Glasgow Life gave 1500 local schoolchildren the opportunity to put Commonwealth Games facilities through their paces less then three months before the starting gun was fired when the Glasgow Youth Games were held at the Emirates Arena and Glasgow Green.

We met a group of pensioners who got fresh air and exercise walking along the towpaths of the Forth and Clyde Canal from Lambhill to Maryhill.

And the members of Bellahouston Health Walking Group who have all seen a vast improvement in fitness levels by taking regular one-hour walks around the South Side park.

Glasgow Life, which has classes for all ages and abilities, offered a free swim to readers in pools across the city.

And youngsters were given the chance to take part in rookie lifeguard taster sessions during the Easter holidays when SportScotland's raft of experts passed on tips and techniques.

Talent manager Tony Stanger advised that it takes hard work and training to be the best - and that is a mindset that can be learned.

While head of physiotherapy Fiona Mather, who worked with Team GB at the London Olympics and Team Scotland in Glasgow this summer, said to achieve results, start with a set of realistic goals.

"Balance your training - if you are a runner it's important to balance strength and flexibility," she said.

"It's really good to do other things so that you look at your body in a really balanced way.

"You can be going to the gym, you can be lifting weights but also maintaining your flexibility at the same time."

No-one has adopted the thinking of Active 2014 better than Evening Times columnist Austin Lafferty.

Every week the Glasgow lawyer has written about the trials and tribulations, highs and lows of training for a marathon.

Who knew those small steps could take us all on such a memorable journey?

angela.mcmanus@eveningtimes.co.uk