THUNDER BAY -- The city has no shortage of people who like to walk.
But when January rolls around, it’s a tad too chilly for most people’s tastes to brave the winter weather outdoors to get their exercise on.
Nancy Angus, the city’s community program director for older adults, says she thinks she might have hit upon a solution.
Based on Tuesday’s numbers, she might be right.
Angus led a group of more than 100 walkers around a makeshift track at the Sports Dome, the fruits of a grant from the Elderly Person’s Centre that allowed the 55-Plus Centre to purchase a weekly hour block of time for seniors to continue to exercise.
“We’ve had people coming out since September to walk, but we wanted to challenge ourselves and we wanted to make an opportunity to have 100 people walking,” Angus said.
“Usually we have about 20 to 25 people coming out, so the last couple of weeks we’ve been gearing up to get 100 people. And we made it.”
Walking is a way for older people to stay in shape, and it’s also one of the easiest sports for people to engage in.
“Walking is the best. It’s the No. 1 activity for Canadians of all ages. And it’s an easy thing to do,” Angus said.
“It’s great to walk outdoors, but when the weather turns inclement, it’s good to be able to walk inside. So this is an opportunity to be able to car pool, come to the Sports Dome and walk together. We’re on a bus route, so there’s really no excuse not to come.”
The weekly walks take place from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., and will continue through next April.
For more information, contact the Thunder Bay 55-Plus Centre.
