Friday, February 13, 2009
By JoAnn Boatwright
The Hillsboro Argus
When it's Heart Month, Steve and Pat Finnegan of Hillsboro walk.
Even when it isn't Heart Month, the Finnegans walk.
And, they will be there for this Saturday's "Love Your Heart Day" 10 K (6.2 mile) walk in Hillsboro.
The Valentine's Day walk, which starts at Tuality Health Education Center, 334 SE Eight Ave., will be a close-to-home event for the Finnegans who travel widely to participate in both organized and year-round, on-your-own Volkswalks.
The Finnegans, just back from their weekly Wednesday morning Volkswalk and lunch, talked recently about their passion for walking.
"There are just so many interesting places to go and things to see," said Steve, a retired Freightliner salesman, who prefers his sight-seeing on foot.
In fact, the Finnegans have Volkswalked in all 50 U.S. state capital cities, starting with Augusta, Maine, in 1999 and ending with Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 2006.
That's a lot of walking for the couple who first Volkswalked in the mid-1990s when Pat's sister introduced them to the sport and to each other.
Steve said he'd shied away from Volkswalks for years, figuring it was for "older people." Once he started, he was hooked.
Steve loves to track his Volkswalks in both his stamp-filled record book and on his computer, and was recognized by the American Volksport Association for both distance and event awards a year or so ago.
Pat, on the other hand, just likes walking and doesn't feel the need to keep records.
The retired healthcare administrator gets off frugally that way.
Anyone who wants to can do a walk at no cost. Those who wish to get credit from the nonprofit American Volksport Association must pay a $3 fee.
The Finnegans go online or consult a nearly 3-inch thick book of more than 3,000 possible Volkswalks to plan both their travels and their walks, and there are more than 50 Volkswalk routes in the Portland metropolitan area.
They loved the Freedom Trail walk in Boston, the Baker's Dozen walk in Savannah, Ga., and the Beverly Hills, Calif., walk past the mansions where old-time movie stars once lived, and are looking forward to an upcoming Volkswalk at the Grand Canyon.
But they don't need to travel to far away places to enjoy Volkswalking. The Cannon Beach walk is one of Pat's favorites and earlier this week, Steve walked the Mount Tabor route in the snow after doing some volunteer work in that Portland neighborhood.
Pat does a couple of walks a week; Steve does several.
They figure they are taking good care of their bodies, enjoying the sights and keeping an active social life - all through Volkswalking. "I'd rather be outside than in a gym," said Pat.
The Wednesday walks are a must for the Finnegans, they said, since every walk ends with lunch at an interesting restaurant. "We've had as many as 49 walkers on a Wednesday," said Steve, who likes walking, among other reasons, because it allows him to indulge in his favorite treat.
I've never met a doughnut I didn't like," he said.
There are more than 320 Volkswalking clubs in the U.S., including several local clubs. The Finnegans belong to the Vancouver USA club, mostly for the newsletter, they said, and this Saturday's walk is being organized by Banks resident Sheila Day of the Tualatin Valley Volks, the sponsoring club.
On Saturday, walkers may start anytime between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. and should finish by 4 p.m. The start and finish are at the Tuality Health Education Center, where a heart healthy fair will be underway.
The route goes through downtown Hillsboro, past the Hillsboro Civic Center and Washington County Courthouse, through a cemetery, by the water treatment plant, along several railroad tracks and by Jackson Bottom Wetlands.
"We'll see things we don't see when we're driving by," said Pat.
The Love Your Heart Day walk is rated an easy 1 in difficulty, dogs on leash are welcome and restrooms will be available, however, the event is not appropriate for strollers or wheelchairs.
"This is so much fun I don't see why more people don't do it," said Steve.
See you on the trail.