From the time I was a very small child, my mom had me walking all over the place. I grew up in a very small town. It was about an hour drive to the largest city where you could do everything- shop, movies, restaurants, etc. And my mom was a shopper! So off we would go “to town” for hours, walking from shop to shop, place to place. Too bad I didn’t have a Garmin or Apple watch back then!
I have struggled with my weight since my teenage years. True confession… I love food! So going into adulthood, I realized I was going to have to be active to help keep my weight under control. Over the years I have done it all- jazzercise, zumba, boxing, Orange Theory, personal training, gym memberships galore and so much more. The only thing that I have truly enjoyed has been walking. I thank my mom for that.
It started out as just a way to stay active. Then I started doing races. As I got faster, people started noticing my speed and recognizing me around town (I now live in the town my mom always dragged me to). Commenting that I walked faster than they ran. That was the first exposure I had to the kind of support and respect a community of walkers and runners could provide. And I wanted more of that!
After completing a number of races, from 5k to half marathons, in 2013 I decided to organize my own marathon, just for me. I was on another health kick and thought it would be fun. I got the local running store involved (mentioned in the Resources section) and they sponsored me. The local newspaper even did an article about it. The marathon was 26.2 miles around town, with my family and friends cheering me on and even walking parts of it with me. When I completed the course, it felt so good I wanted to get everyone walking so they could feel that good too! It was then I decided that Walk Fiercely was going to be my mantra.
In 2015, I wrote a weekly blog of the same name. After a year I realized it was harder than I thought to come up with fresh, original content every week. So the blog faded away.
I feel like now is the perfect time to revamp and transform Walk Fiercely into something new, bigger and better. Walk Fiercely is a “movement to keep moving”. And I invite you all to come on this journey with me!