By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Could you walk to Dayton, Ohio, and back from Novi? That’s what Chet Tarczynski and Roy Birmingham accomplished recently, when they each walked 9,000 and 8,305 minutes respectively as part of Fox Run’s Fourth  Annual Walking Challenge.

“Over a 30-day time span it averages between four and a half to five hours of walking per day,” says Wellness Coordinator Tony Logan II. “The total amount of minutes from all of our participants (including staff) was the highest that it has ever been.”

Fox Run won friendly competition
Fox Run walkers beat out competitors at their sister community, Henry Ford Village, in Dearborn. The 111 participants included 97 residents and 14 staff members.

Experts say ‘stick to it’
Although the Walking Challenge is officially over for this year, many experts agree that walking is an important element of healthy living.

“Walking programs can be very effective in helping people get into shape, improve their cardiovascular fitness levels and, to some degree, lose weight,” says Caroline R. Richardson, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. Richardson adds that people tend to stick with walking programs. “Walking does seem to be better than more vigorous activities for adherence,” she says.

Logan agrees: “Walking is important for everyone, particularly older adults, because it is one of the simplest ways to exercise. The best part about walking is that it’s free, only takes a few minutes a day, and can be quite enjoyable depending on the company and scenery of the surrounding environment.”

Join a group
Currently at Fox Run, the Health Walkers group, consisting of approximately 15 walkers, meets five days a week.