If the idea of running a marathon’s 26.2 miles staggers the imagination, then how about walking 21 miles? All right, how about walking eight miles?
In spite of a steady drizzle, a bunch of walkers who are determined to walk 21 miles in late May showed up at Barrington High School recently to trek eight miles with walking guru Rob Sweetgall.
Eight miles was more than some of the 48 people who came had ever walked. But it was an enthusiasm- and stamina-building training session for the biggie, the TGIF walk on May 24.
The Great Illinois Fitness walk is a 21-mile hike from St. Charles to Algonquin, co-sponsored by Good Shepherd Hospital, the Barrington Park District, Barrington Community Unit School District 220 and the Healthy Community Project of Barrington.
And, according to walk officials, participants will be bingeing on calorie-burning, muscle-toning exercise that hopefully will become a habit.
“This isn’t about a one-time event. Walking is something people can do the rest of their lives. This is about being fit for life,” said Syl Boeder, Good Shepherd Hospital community relations director, in a reference to a favorite Sweetgall phrase.
To participate in the TGIF walk, which has attracted more than 150 registrants from all over the Chicago area, people paid $29 to cover a foot-care kit, a 12-week training manual, training clinics, T-shirt and support services. It is a non-competitive, social group walk that will try to maintain a 3.5-m.p.h. pace, or 17 minutes per mile.
“If you want to race walk, we’ll see you. We walk as a group for camaraderie and at a comfortable, safe pace,” said Sweetgall, who had come up from his home in St Louis to lead the walk and offer tips.
He explained some of his enthusiasm for walking: “The body is a natural walking machine. Walking is the safest exercise you can do for reducing body fat and increasing your cardiovascular capacity.”
A former overweight chemical engineer, Sweetgall took up walking after seeing family members, including his father, dying of heart disease.
“Humans were designed as gatherers and hunters. Now they sit on the couch accumulating body fat. They push buttons. Everything is close or convenient,” he said.
The people training with him that day were convinced of the benefits of walking. Several of them, such as 75-year-old Agnes Krueger of Barrington, took up regular walking after hearing Sweetgall speak at Harper College a few years ago.
“I do it just to keep fit. It’s like they say, use it or lose it,” said Krueger, who averages about three miles a day.
That was the popular sentiment no matter the age. Kelly Wegner, 16, of Woodstock said she likes walking as exercise. Walking next to Wegner, 40-year-old Becky Bauer of Cary, added, “I want to get in shape, lose some weight. And walking is something I’ll stick with.”
Registration for this walk is closed, but for more information, call Boeder at Good Shepherd Hospital, 847-842-4321.
