Photos courtesy of Healthy New Albany
Wee Walkers
Michelle Waltman and her daughter, Samantha. Photo courtesy of Michelle Waltman
Two years ago, when 41-year-old Michelle Waltman and her husband, Jeff, relocated to New Albany from Dublin, the family enjoyed the New Albany Walking Classic from the sidelines.
A year later, Waltman signed up. This year, Waltman and her daughter Samantha, 10, plan to take on the Walking Classic together.
The full-time mom and her two daughters have taken up walking as a mother/daughter activity, though Madison, 6, plans to cheer from the sidelines with her dad. The trio try to walk each night during the summer, and on nice days, they walk from their home to the library and Starbucks, which Waltman estimates to be 3 miles.
“We make up songs and we make it as doable as possible,” says Waltman. “This is something we can actually do together. Most activities, you can’t do with your kids.”
Another benefit of the Walking Classic for younger walkers is that it isn’t a race, and finishing is a goal, not a requirement. Waltman hopes that in the future, Madison will be able to walk as well without the pressure of having to finish the Walk.
Samantha, on the other hand, is a member of Girls on the Run, an international organization that aims to empower young girls through running. Waltman says the organization has made Samantha more comfortable in trying new things, but Samantha mostly anticipates the walk to be with her mom.
“My 10-year-old is excited to do it because this is our thing that we get to do together,” says Waltman. “I think she’ll do great.”
Springin’ Chickens
For 17-year-old New Albany High School senior Abigail Orsinelli, the Walk has been a part of the fall season since she can remember.
Having lived in New Albany most of her life and having a home near Market Street, Orsinelli remembers seeing walkers and becoming curious about the Walk. After her mother, Lisa, walked one year, Orsinelli asked if she could join, too.
“I think it’s good to promote healthy activities like that in the community,” says Orsinelli, a soccer player at New Albany High School. “It’s a good way for the community to get together, and it also provides a lot of volunteer opportunities for the high school students.”
Since she began to participate in the event, Orsinelli has only skipped the Walk one year, when she and her soccer teammates were scheduled to volunteer during the event. That year, Orsinelli says, she was a “cheerleader.”
Orsinelli says she enjoys the Walk so much because it’s not only healthy, but she’s able to hang out with her friends and her 15-year-old sister, Sophia, who’s been walking in the event nearly as long as Orsinelli.
“We start at the same time as our parents, and we try to beat them,” says Orsinelli.
Each year, Orsinelli can expect to see classmates walking, volunteering and performing. Some of her classmates are musicians who perform along the Walk route. The draw that the Walking Classic brings to the New Albany community is also a plus, she says.
“That we can pull off something like that, that other people want to come to, and it’s all about promoting being healthy,” says Orsinelli. “It’s always been a fun way to hang out. It’s a lot easier to talk to someone when you’re walking.”
Skilled Skippers
Bridget Henze is no newbie when it comes to the Walking Classic. Five years ago, Henze and three of her friends each decided on a whim to try the Walk out, met up by chance and the rest is history.
“Every year, we text each other and ask if they’ve signed up,” says Henze, 43. “We kind of have that as our ‘thing.’ … It’s really fun. We look forward to it.”
Henze is a marathon runner, but she and her group of friends enjoy the Walk more as a community event than a competitive one.
“I love that it supports Healthy New Albany,” says Henze. “Runs are a dime a dozen. You have marathons in every city. But to have a Walking Classic, it’s really unique.”
Henze felt the burn one year when her group of friends decided to try out the half marathon distance the first year it was offered.
“It was hard,” says Henze. “It was really fun, but as someone who runs, it hurt in a different way. You’re using different muscles than you do when you run.”
Now, Henze sticks to the 10K event. As an added bonus, finishing the walking portion affords Henze and her friends more time to socialize and enjoy the rest of the event.
“What we really love is hanging out afterward with all the vendors and all the food,” says Henze.
The Sole Sisters
Sole Sisters
Like Henze, 53-year-old Lorraine Shill prefers to walk with a group of friends, and the Walking Classic has turned into a tradition.
The fivesome look forward to the event so much that they’ve adopted a name for their group: the Sole Sisters. The group can be picked out of the crowd easily thanks to the matching shirts adorned with the group name.
“Of course we wanted to be a part of it, because it’s a wonderful cause and a really fun day,” says Shill. “We meet up in the morning at someone’s house and have a little coffee and breakfast and walk over. … It’s just a really enjoyable time.”
Shill’s interest in the Walk sparked the year she moved to New Albany. The day of the Walk, she looked out of the bathroom window of her Johnstown Road home and was greeted with a huge, slow-moving crowd.
“It was a perfect view of the Walk and the people; it went on forever,” says Shill. “My daughter was like, ‘Come and look at this. Can you believe it?’”
What keeps Shill and the rest of the Sole Sisters coming back is the connection between the Walking Classic and the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany.
“We all live in New Albany, so we love New Albany and the Heit Center and the things that Phil Heit does,” says Shill. “Of course we want to support that. … We’re really lucky to have these types of things in New Albany that everybody’s so enthusiastic to be a part of. It’s really good energy.”
Amanda DePerro is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
