Discovering the Athlete Within

By Susie Pontefract

When you first hear of all the ways Wendy Bumgardner is involved in the walking community, the term “Walking Superwoman” might come to mind. And while Wendy will adamantly deny this, her bio reads like a “who’s who” of the walking world. Wendy is the official “guide” for walking.about.com an informative website with information on all things walking. She has served for eight years as the secretary and vice president of the American Volkssport Association, created the association’s website, and is the subscription manager of its Northwest Walking Magazine. She’s the president of the International Discovery Walk Festival, a three-day event that draws people from all over the world. On top of all of this, she’s walked the Portland Marathon four times, walked over 1,100 10k events, has participated in countless other events, plans her vacations around International Marching League walks, holds down a full-time job, and still finds time for her daily walking workouts.

So how does she find the energy to do so much for the walking world? Because for a time, Wendy couldn’t walk at all.

When Wendy was 10 years old, her knee dislocated while she was playing on the playground. The injury recurred three or four more times over the next few years. When she was 14 years old, her doctors performed a patella replant operation to repair the knee. After her surgery, she was put in a hard cast to immobilize her leg. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Wendy and her doctors, the cast was too tight and thus cut off circulation to the nerves in Wendy’s foot. When her cast was removed, Wendy couldn’t lift her left foot. She could point her foot downwards but couldn’t pull it up. During a time when most girls are traumatized by a bad hair day and pimples, Wendy had to drag her foot around the halls of her high school. Her foot got progressively better throughout high school, but it wasn’t until her last years in college that Wendy could begin walking without a limp. “When you have a condition like mine that prevents you from doing what other kids can do, you begin to see yourself as ‘handicapped,’” says Wendy. “I began to believe that I couldn’t do certain things, especially when it came to athletics. So, why even try?”

After college, Wendy went to work for the Portland VA Hospital where she met her future husband. He asked her to join him in the first Volksmarch to be held in Oregon, which entailed a six-mile walk. After much convincing, Wendy agreed to go, but made her hubby-to-be swear that he’d pick her up if she ran into trouble. With that promise, Wendy signed up for her first athletic event. To her amazement, she walked the six miles without any trouble and won her first athletic medal ever. From that moment on, she was hooked.

When asked how walking has changed her life she answers, “I now feel extremely capable and athletic and empowered.” She laughs in disbelief when others label her as “one of those fast walkers.” Yet, she too has her role models. “It’s the older ladies I walk with, women in their 70s and 80s, who still walk every day and plan trips to go walking. They are a true testament to how this sport keeps you active and vibrant. I want to be just like them when I grow up!”

Wendy plans to stay active in the walking community as long as she can. She is passionate about the obesity health crisis in America. “This generation of children is estimated to be the first to have a shorter lifespan than their parents. We must do all we can to prevent this.” Through her activities, Wendy hopes to help others find the appreciation of walking that she has and to discover their athlete within.