Walking The World is an outdoor adventure company offering guided walking tours for those over 50 years of age. We invite any and all active travelers to join us on our walking trips. You do need to be in “reasonably” good physical condition at the time of your particular trip, be able to walk 5-9 miles a day at a comfortable pace, have an adventurous spirit and love the great outdoors. Oh, and you must also love to sample some of the world’s best food and drink, love new experiences and be open to meeting some of the nicest people in the world – your fellow travelers!
Ward Luthi in Arches N.P., Utah
How does one prepare for a walking tour? Walking on a regular basis, ideally on a daily basis with some hill or stair work, is a great start.
The last few months for me have been extraordinarily busy and I’ve found myself putting off my daily walks or weight training simply because I didn’t feel I had the time or because I was “too tired”. Now the reality is that I can find the time to get in my walk…if I choose to do so. It really is that simple. However, when I don’t have a specific goal I’m shooting for, I find it much easier to find an excuse to put my walk or weight training off for that “perfect” day. To counteract my own tendency to procrastinate, I set a goal of walking at least one mile on one hundred consecutive days, rain or shine or snow!
Part of my madness also comes from a true desire to better understand why it is seemingly so easy for so many of us who are over 50 to put off doing the exercise that will keep us happy and healthy as we age.
How’s it going? Well, so far, so good. Oh, I also count all my hiking miles toward my daily mileage goal. Although the miles may include some stops for water or lunch, etc., I still consider them good miles walked. I would invite you too as well if you design your own walking challenge.
Below is a chart of the first 30 days of my 100-day walking challenge.
Ward’s 100 – Day Walking Challenge
Day Date Mileage Time
1 Sept 29 2.8 miles 40 min
2 Sept 30 3.0 miles 45 min
3 Oct 1 2.2 miles 33:37 min
4 Oct 2 4.19 miles 60:25 min
5 Oct 3 2.2 miles 32:50 min
6 Oct 4 1.12 miles 16:36 min
7 Oct 5 4.0 miles
8 Oct 6 4.0 miles
9 Oct 7 6.5 miles
10 Oct 8 2.0 miles
11 Oct 9 6.5 miles
12 Oct 10 11 miles
13 Oct 11 1 miles
14 Oct 12 2.1 miles 31:00
15 Oct 13 2.2 miles 32:26
16 Oct 14 2.2 miles 33:33
17 Oct 15 2.15 miles 31:45
18 Oct 16 2.25 miles 32:56
19 Oct 17 2.0 miles 27:35
20 Oct 18 6.0 miles 187 min
21 Oct 19 2.2 miles 32:29
22 Oct 20 4.62 miles 1:12:41
23 Oct 21 2.19 miles 34:41
24 Oct 22 2.25 miles 36:58
25 Oct 23 2.21 miles 35:34
26 Oct 24 4.2 miles
27 Oct 25 1.0 miles 14.27
28 Oct 26 2.29 miles 35:02
29 Oct 27 1.0 miles 14:04
30 Oct 28 1.0 miles 15:14
(Please note that the days with more detail included, minutes and hours walked, were tracked with my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS and heart-rate monitor.)
I would love to hear if you’ve ever designed your own walking challenge. And if you’d like to walk along with me, I would love that. Please drop me an email at info@walkingtheworld.com to let me know you’re going to join me and when you’ll be starting. I’d like to send you encouragement for lacing up those shoes or boots each day and heading out.
In Adventure and Great Walking!
Ward Luthi
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