can get a good warm-up, or get aggressive and do a good workout.” Outdoors, the Roanoke River Greenway attracts many walkers—and their dogs. Katie Howey, a grad student at Virginia Tech, is one. “I lead a generally hectic life,” she says. “Between commuting to Blacksburg, working on my thesis, and my job, it is hard to find time to go to the gym. at is why I like to walk. Walking is a physical and mental refresher. “During the week, I walk Willow [her 8-month-old Goldendoodle] on the greenway regularly. On the weekends my boyfriend, Willow, and I take advantage of the beautiful region we live in by hiking.” Roanoke residents Tom Johnson, 72, and Pat McMeekin, 63, can also be seen on the greenway with their Sheltie, Ruffian Ready, a.k.a. Ruffy. “He’s gone probably as much as eight miles in one walk,” says McMeekin. “We carry water for him.” Johnson, a former runner, switched to walking for health reasons. He’s not the only one, according to Jim Humphrey, president of the Star City Striders. “It’s mainly a running club,” he says, “but we’re looking into how to inte-
grate walking into it some, recognizing that walking is becoming more of a factor and more people are doing it. ey’ve aged out or have hip issues so they become walkers.” In November, the group’s Star City Half Marathon included a 10K walk for the first time. “A lot of the races are becoming walk friendly,” says Blaine Lewis, co-owner of Fleet Feet Sports in Roanoke. In the Drumstick Dash, held annually to benefit the Roanoke Rescue Mission, walkers outnumber runners almost two to one, he says. Group walking not your style? Opportunities abound for more solitary jaunts. Buddy Johnson, 60, works at Walkabout Outfitter in Lexington. “Within a three-mile proximity of Lexington, you’ve got four different options,” he says: Woods Creek Trail, Chessie Nature Trail, Brushy Hill Preserve, and Boxerwood Nature Center & Woodland Garden. Johnson says he walks to get in shape for longer trips on the Appalachian Trail. In Roanoke, woodland wanderers can explore the trails that wind invitingly through the 500 acres of parkland on and around Mill Mountain. Nancy Dye, chairperson of the city’s Mill Mountain Advisory Committee, lives on the old switchback road up the
Making It a Habit Need a specific time and day to get motivated? You’re always welcome to join Physicians on Foot, a free walking program offered by Carilion Clinic. The group meets at 8:30 every Saturday morning. From April through October, it meets on the Roanoke River Greenway near Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital; from November through March, at Tanglewood Mall. “It helps to have a group to walk with. It gives you a place and time to show up,” says Elizabeth Polk, M.D., a family medicine physician who started the program and who often walks with the group. “There’s no topic, the point is to get out and exercise.” “It gets me out walking on a regular basis,” says Stuart Zaikov, 64. Zaikov says he was introduced to the greenway through Physicians on Foot. Carilion has also sponsored Step by Step, a voluntary 12week walking program for its own employees. Each was given a pedometer, with the goal of walking 10,000 steps, or 30 minutes a day. Carilion is also a sponsor of many running and walking events throughout the region.
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