The Willamette Valley Relay: For Walkers Only

The Willamette Valley Relay:
For Walkers Only

By Pamela Granata

Louis finishes his first leg for the Walk About Wallabies handing off to Matt. Note the man reading Walk About magazine, hint Andy Carson from KGW, Channel 12.

Karen meeting up with Allyson mid-morning in a beautiful field of mint.

It was HOT! Pam winding down and handing off to Celia. It was 96 degrees.

With the tempurature rising Celia finishes and hands off to Carol. Smart gal wearing the hat.

A year ago this very month a bunch of us sat at a local pub drinking margaritas and discussing how we wished there were more walker-only events. A few at the table are a little more competitive than the others but we all enjoy walking competitively so we looked for walker-friendly running events to enter. We compete among ourselves usually without any recognition. Well that all changed on July 16 with the first Willamette Valley Relay.

This event was the brainchild of Judy Heller. Judy is a well-known walking advocate and personal trainer/coach. Judy Heller of EROFit & Associates was an integral part of Portland to Coast. In addition to EROFit & Associates, Judy recently started another company called Wonders of Walking (WOW). WOW promotes events for walkers by walkers. The Willamette Valley Relay was WOW’s first event, and it was a big one. Known as Oregon’s longest walk-only relay, the Willamette Valley Relay covered 140 miles. Walkers meandered through five state parks, five counties, and nine Oregon towns all in two days. The relay covered approximately 140 miles. Teams consisted of 8 to 12 participants ranging from the casual walker to the more experienced racewalker.

This inaugural event drew 564 participants. The youngest was a 13-year old. For another family, the youngest member was a 16-year old boy who joined his mother for his first relay. The most senior was 74 years old. Participants traveled from nine states, (AZ, CA, IA, ID, OR, TN, VA, WA) and Ontario, Canada. Teams started as early as 4am on Friday. Vans were decorated with chickens, alligators, body parts, and undergarments. Walkers were jammed into the vans for sometimes up to 35 hours, many with no sleep, and no showers, walking two to three legs of the relay.

With individual relay legs ranging between 3.1 to 8.8 miles, walkers endured blazing heat, rain showers, and pitch darkness during the middle of the night. Faced with these conditions how could you possibly call this having a good time? I had the time of my life. I volunteered my husband as a driver and drafted all the crazy friends I could to be on our team. Many of us knew one another before the event but many people we would get to know on our journey. What a way to meet and make new friends. For individuals who desired to be on a team, but couldn’t, Wonders of Walking offered a team-matching service, which is a service it will continue to offer. 75% of the teams were competitive and 25% were Walk Our Way teams. Walk Our Way is a unique category of walkers who are allowed to complete the relay in any way they can. Whereby competitive teams need to adhere to the guidelines of the relay, the Walk Our Way teams do what they can to make it to the finish line — multiple walkers per leg; variance of order of walkers. It’s another example of how WOW caters to walkers of all capabilities. The goal is to have fun and feel the pride of a great accomplishment.

Many walkers walk to challenge themselves and to enjoy the great outdoors. Willamette Valley Relay provided the challenge. So you can bet that the 56 teams competing this year will return for the Willamette Valley Relay on July 15-16 2005 along with many, many more teams to take on the challenge.

Donations were made to the following organizations: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington , Legacy Comprehensive Stroke Program, and the Oregon Stroke Center based at OHSU.

One Man’s Quest for Healthy Walking Shoes

By Dr. Ray McClanahan

As a long-time runner, I was familar with the heightened sensations brought about by extended periods of putting one foot in front of the other, as well as the pleasureful sedated euphoria experienced when the exercise stops. What I didn’t realize is that many of the same pleasures accompany the experience of exended walking.

I learned this after a friend asked me to walk with her on the Willamette Valley Relay.

A soon as the invitation to walk the relay came in, I began my quest to find healthy shoes to walk in. Since no walking or running shoe is shaped like the natural human foot shape, or functions like a human foot should, with the heel and forefoot level, I decided to look at footwear outside of the running and walking category. What piqued my interest were a pair of Crocs that a patient was wearing.

I purchased my own pair and was at first skeptical due to the lightweight nature of the footwear. The next two months were pure joy, which culminated in walking the Willamette Valley Relay in the shoes.

I do need to caution however, that fast walking and running has been comfortable for me in the Crocs only with the use of toe spacers and metatarsal pads and generally will fit looser than a typical walking running shoe.

I now wear these shoes not only on my walks and runs, but every day in my practice.