Employees "Reach" New York, San Francisco

Some are going to San Franciso or New York. Others just around their building or neighborhood. Some keep track of their miles. Others don’t. But they are all walking or running for wellness.

Earlier this year, we highlighted three walking/running clubs which sprung into action as a result of the County’s Live Well, San Diego! initiative.

We decided to check back with them to see how they are moving along.

The group of more than 50 employees at Behavioral Health Services (BHS) has practically taken a bite out of the Big Apple, having logged in a total of nearly 3,000 miles. The group walked a lot, recording more than 550 miles their highest week.

Yes, there were some “Are we there yet?” along the way, but the group reached their destination.

To make the trek to New York more interesting, they plotted their progress in a big map and even emailed group members tourist information of different places they passed along the way.

“There was a lot of enthusiasm,” said Sabrena Marshall, a BHS principal administrative analyst and one of the group organizers. “People seemed to enjoy the ‘virtual sightseeing.’ It’s fun reporting in and seeing where we are now.  It gave me a lot of incentive to walk.”

The group at the County’s ACCESS center does not keep track of their miles, but the 20 members of the unofficial club walk or run consistently on a daily basis.

“I couldn’t tell you the miles for the whole group but they are substantial,” said Taylor McDonald, human services specialist for the Health and Human Services Agency and leader of the group.

Aside from the walking club, he also leads a smaller group of runners. The members run after work and make sure they put in a 4-5 mile run at least once per week.

“It is very inspiring and amazing to see people who don’t usually exercise get out and run or walk,” said McDonald, who has been running four years and also participates in triathlons. “The most inspirational is seeing someone cross a finish line for a race, be it a 5k, 10k, or more.”

And what about the third group of walkers?

The County Communications Office decided to go north along the coast to San Francisco and walk/run the 500-mile trip. They too track their miles and walked a record 147 miles six weeks after the group began late last year.

As a whole, the group is on its way back from San Francisco a second time, having logged about 1,900 miles.

The competition between the top two walkers has become fierce, each trying to out walk/run each other. The leader, who runs before or after work and walks during lunch, has amassed more than 450 miles and is all the way in Santa Cruz. Her closest competitor—the communications specialist who was always at his desk and suspected of living in the office—is in San Simeon, about 100 miles behind.

But he tries to diminish the distance between them, walking twice every day and an average of 30 miles each week.

“I don’t like to be left in the dust,” he was recently heard saying.

The groups have now reached their destination. So what is the next step?

Jennifer Mallory, administrative analyst for BHS, just wants to keep on walking.

“We are going to turn around and head home…or maybe head on to Paris…or…,” she said.