Walk with a Doc
I wanted to share a site with you that I just love! I came across Dr. David Sabgir’s newsletter a few years ago and just loved him! He is so funny but also very caring and passionate about walking and his patients. More about him below:
Walk with a Doc was started in 2005 by Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio. Frustrated with his inability to affect behavior change in the clinical setting, Dr. Sabgir invited his patients to go for a walk with him in a local park on a spring Saturday morning. To his surprise, over 100 people showed up, energized and ready to move.
Since that first event in 2005, Walk with a Doc has grown as a grassroots effort, with a model based on sustainability and simplicity. A doctor gives a brief presentation on a health topic and then leads participants on a walk at their own pace. Healthy snacks, coffee and blood pressure checks are an optional part of a Walk with a Doc event. The Walk added an Executive Director in 2009 and focused on building a program that could easily be implemented by interested doctors in other cities around the country. As a result of these efforts, the reach of Walk with a Doc now extends all around the globe with
nearly 500 chapters worldwide, including 26 Walk with a Future Doc chapters!
To read some of the walkers stories, click here!
He has an awesome Walk Challenge going on right now! It is on May 4th and can be done in person or virtually!
The Back Story is amazing!! You might be wondering why we would attempt to walk 50 miles in one day. Here in 2019, we want to connect to something that President Teddy Roosevelt started 111 years ago. In 1908, President Roosevelt was concerned his military was too soft and issued an executive order that all Marines should be able to cover 50 miles in three days. During those three days, the walking should be uninterrupted, and he felt they should close with sprints. Well, the records show that some of the soldiers were able to do this in one day.
Fifty-five years passed and someone in President John F. Kennedy’s administration got wind of Teddy’s ask. This came during a time in 1963 when America was concerned that 50 percent of the military was physically unfit to serve. Data from 2017 shows 59 percent of current 17-24 year-olds are physically unfit to serve, 71 percent are unfit overall. JFK issued a new challenge to his military to be physically fit to walk 50 miles in one day. Many civilians, including Bobby Kennedy, also took the President up on this challenge. It became a national craze involving many wonderful stories.
For more info on Walk with a Doc and to join their newsletter, go to: Walk with a Doc
Your Walking Friend!
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