Long before walking was declared an aerobic exercise, there were those who realized its power to clear a cluttered mind and calm a troubled soul.
Whether one chooses a dirt path winding through a forest preserve, a sidewalk punctuating a neighborhood subdivision or even the air-conditioned corridors of a suburban mall, walking remains a venerable form of exercise, enjoyed by young and old.
Yet this rudimentary sport invokes a scenario involving a cast of characters ranging from village and county officials to retailers and the medical community.
This is especially true in the northwest suburbs, where the lay of the land changes the politics and paths of walking from town to town.
Many suburbs, such as Arlington Heights, Mt. Prospect and Palatine, offer shops, restaurants and a commuter train station in a central business district that’s a short walk from adjacent residential areas.
Yet other communities, including Schaumburg, were not built around an established downtown, which often discourages residents from attempting to travel on foot to the multitude of shopping malls and other amenities scattered across the community.
But many in the northwest suburbs are committed to walking-and making walking work.
There’s a large contigent of walkers. According to Boston-based Walking magazine, 30 million people nationwide walk for fitness. Nearly 14 million of them walk four or more times a week.
Sidewalks are an obvious path of choice. Often the question for village officials isn’t whether to install sidewalks but how to maintain them, for everyone’s benefit.
“It definitely discourages walkers if you don’t give them a safe place to walk,” said Mary Anne O’Toole, a civil engineer with the village of Arlington Heights. “We’ve become more aggressive in setting goals for our sidewalks, like establishing walk routes for all the schools in the village that are relatively trip free.”
O’Toole admits that the $200,000 her department receives from the village budget for funding sidewalk repairs “doesn’t go very far.”
“We are on very limited funds,” she said. “But I keep a tape recorder with me in my car, and even if I’m not working, I’m always looking for hazards.”
The village’s sidewalk program encourages residents to call if they are concerned about what O’Toole refers to as “bad sidewalks with trip hazards.”
Walkers face other hazards, from dangerous intersections to sharing sidewalk space with roller bladers and bicyclists.
For some, joining a walking club at a local mall, such as Randhurst Shopping Center in Mt. Prospect or One Schaumburg Place in Schaumburg, has proved to be a welcome alternative.
“It’s a healthy workout in a safe environment that gives the shopping center a community feeling,” said Deborah Owen, internal marketing supervisor at Randhurst.
The Mallwalkers Club of Randhurst kicked off this summer and already has more than 300 walkers, ranging from mothers with small children in strollers to senior citizens, Owen said.
The One Schaumburg Place program, Walk on the Wild Side, is sponsored by Hoffman Estates Medical Center and has attracted 300 members since its inception last February, according to Konda Dees, who coordinates the mall walkers. With their free memberships, walkers receive discounts at mall shops and earn prizes, as well as an “I’m a Wild One” T-shirt after tallying 100 miles.
The program has proven to be healthy for the merchants, too, Dees said.
“I think one ancillary benefit that we didn’t anticipate was the sales impact (with) walkers passing by the storefronts each day,” Dees said.
Not unlike a stroll down main street, a hike across the mall allows a walker the opportunity to window shop and scope out sales. Participants often end their workout with a stop at one of the mall’s restaurants for a cold drink or a cup of cappuccino, Dees said.
The participants, who often get their miles in before the mall even opens, are enthusiastic.
“You’re inside, out of the weather, and you can park on the third level and walk right into the building,” said Barbara Sutter, 58, of Schaumburg. “It’s a chance to strike up friendships, and you feel obligated to come out and walk every day. If you’re not there, your friends will wonder what happened to you.”
“In the winter, the mall is warm, and when it’s hot and humid outside in the summer, it’s air-conditioned,” said 62-year-old Rolling Meadows resident Frank Seibert, who said he started a walking routine after having three open heart surgeries.
If walking in a mall can be hazardous to compulsive shoppers, Dr. Arthur Nazarian, a cardiologist at Hoffman Estates Medical Center, said that taking preventive measures toward good health is a sound bargain.
“Walking has some major benefits. It’s a good form of aerobic exercise, it utilizes a number of muscle groups, it raises the heart rate in an appropriate fashion, and it does not require buying expensive equipment,” Nazarian said. “It increases the cardiac output and enhances the heart’s ability to pump.”
Nazarian said walkers should maintain an easy, comfortable pace, walking 20 to 30 minutes three or more times a week, and should slow down if they become short of breath or lightheaded.
An individual interested in walking as an aerobic exercise who has been sedentary or has any high-risk factors is advised to consult with a doctor before embarking upon a program.
Walking can bring benefits. According to Walking magazine, if you’re walking 4 miles an hour, you’ll burn 300 calories in 52 minutes.
Many walkers prefer to focus on the aesthetic value inherent to walking. These athletes embrace the wonders of local nature sites, including those belonging to the McHenry County Conservation District.
To promote walking and hiking at the sites, the conservation district initiated the Century Hikers club last year. The club has attracted more than 70 members.
Membership in the Century Hikers club requires a one-time $10 fee, which includes a packet of maps detailing the 10 walking trails in the district, as well as a log book to record mileage.
“People go to places they’ve never gone before . . . through marshes and prairies, savannas and bogs,” said Kath Beal of the conservation district. “You can bring your dog on a leash through the prairie trail, and if you’re really motivated, you can get a sweat-producing workout by hiking through Glacial Park (near Ringwood). I think people are motivated by being out in open areas, under the trees.”
The Cook County Forest Preserve District has its own scenic walking trails.
Deer Grove Forest Preserve, at Quentin and Dundee Roads in Palatine, offers an 11.5-mile multi-use dirt trail and a 3.9-mile paved bike trail.
Busse Woods, adjacent to Higgins and Arlington Heights Roads in Elk Grove Village, offers an 11.2-mile paved trail.
According to forest preserve district officials, the paved paths have three additional feet alloted to each side, providing a safety zone that allows walkers, bikers, and in-line skaters to share the trails in harmony.
Keeping track of miles treked provides a tangible reward for walkers, including the 350 children who belong to the Kimball Hill Elementary School walking club in Rolling Meadows.
According to parent and PTA member Terry Wolek, students in 1st through 6th grades joined forces to log more than 3,500 miles over the course of the 1993-94 school year.
Sponsored by the Women’s Club Health and Fitness Center in Rolling Meadows, the walking club was a pilot program designed by the Chicagoland Council of Physical Fitness, Sports and Health. It will start again in September.
Students would participate during their lunch hour, walking a predetermined course through the neighborhood, under the supervision of parent volunteers.
“We decided to not give awards to walkers,” Wolek explained. “All the kids-even the ones who are not necessarily good at sports-got a patch. A lot of the kids like to play video games, and the walking club really got them more interested in exercise.”
Whichever path they choose, walkers in the northwest suburbs are a dedicated lot.
Mary Mantilla rises each weekday morning at 6:30 and joins a friend for a brisk 45-minute walk around their Arlington Heights neighborhood.
“I did belong to a health club, but it was always a big production,” she said. “You’d have to drive there and change, and it was an artificial atmosphere. I wanted to do something that felt more natural, where you don’t need equipment and I could do it with someone I enjoy talking to.
“You can walk anywhere.”
