Winter walking program gets Leavenworth adults moving

As the clock ticked to midnight on Tuesday, January 1, a majority of us watched the ball drop, ordered a new 2019 planner and planned on a fresh start for the new year.
    A lot of people make a list of New Year resolutions to fulfill, like procrastinating less or call Mom more often. Often times the new year is an opportunity to commit to a heathy lifestyle - whether that's just opting out of the routine fast food lunch stop or to finally try out that Keto diet the neighbor claimed was the source for her weight loss. For the second year in a row, the City of Leavenworth is helping those who are striving to incorporate exercise in their 2019 rituals.
    "We were able to start our walking in November of 2017 and continued until the end of March 2017 (approximately 4 months). Since the Festhalle in December of 2018 was rented for the entire month we were not able to start our walking program in 2018," said Residential Advisory Committee, Festhalle Oversight Committee member and council member Sharon Waters.
    The Adult Walking Program kicked off on Thursday, January 3 at the Festhalle. Early birds can flock to the Festhalle Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. to catch some brisk laps for no charge.
    Waters had brainstormed what to offer to the community in the summer of 2017 after a Residential Advisory Committee meeting and then she had the light bulb moment for the program.
    "Why can’t we walk in the Festhalle early in the morning as a community gift to those who like to walk for exercise and have to quit because of the cold winter weather and slippery icy roads?" she had proposed at a Festhalle Oversight Committee meeting.
    Waters paired up with Josh Flickner, Festhalle Manager, to work out the details and made it happen. And Waters volunteered to open and close the Festhalle and supervise for the duration of the mornings.
    "I bring my speaker and play my summer swimming pool water aerobic music and away we go," said Waters.
    This is an adults only program - so keep the little ones at home and only bring along energy and new walking shoes that were a Christmas present. Other than that rule, the guidelines are flexible for how individuals decide to take their morning stroll.
    "You can walk fast or slow, walk forwards or backwards, do dance steps while you walk, walk and talk with each other, find an open space and stretch, walk with weights" said Waters. "If you want to keep track of how many miles you walk, one mile is 15 trips around the inside of the Festhalle. "
    This is an opportunity to get those extra steps in and start off 2019 on the right foot. Walking days are also listed on the Festhalle website calendar.