Dateline: March 22, 2007

Walk across Texas set for April 12
By MaryRuth Peacock, County Agent

Come and walk across Texas with us! Walk Across Texas is a program created by Texas Cooperative Extension to help you establish the habit of regular physical activity. From border to border, you and/or your team, can walk 830 miles across the state, seeing your progress across the state on-line, or on a Texas road map.

Donley County will kick off a Walk Across Texas program at the health fair this year, April 12. There will be a sign up table at the fair for you to pick up a packet, sign up for a team, or get some additional information. Teams will meet at the Clarendon College track at 6:30 p.m. that evening to walk the first mile and enjoy a light supper. You can continue walking or visit with other team members. Bring your lawn chair or blanket and enjoy the fun.

Walk Across Texas (WAT) is a minimal cost program of $10 per person. The $10 fee goes to pay for a t-shirt, wrap-up meal, and prizes. Doing Walk Across Texas with people you know is a great way to help you keep going when you feel like quitting. A map will be displayed at various businesses in Clarendon throughout the eight-week program to track our teams progress.

Start by walking as a member of a team of eight for eight weeks at work or with another type of group such as your church or social group. Team members do not have to walk together. Some prefer walking outside, while others walk on a treadmill. You may even choose to bike, swim, or dance across Texas by using mileage equivalents included in your sign up packet.

Walk Across Texas is NOT a walk-a-thon NOR is it an event to raise money. While teams do compete to walk across the state first and/or to accumulate the most miles during the eight weeks, the main point is to get moving and keep moving after Walk Across Texas ends. After Walk Across Texas ends, you may want to continue on walking by yourself to see how long it takes you to walk across the state all by yourself.

According to "Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General:"

Physical inactivity is a serious nationwide problem. It is a public health problem because it is linked to unnecessary illness and premature death.

More than 60 percent of Americans are not getting enough physical activity to receive health benefits from it.

Twenty-five percent of adult Americans report no physical activity in their leisure time.

Regular physical activity can substantially reduce the risk of developing or dying from heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and high blood pressure.

Regular physical activity can reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve mood, and enhance the ability to perform daily tasks.

The great thing about Walk Across Texas is that almost anyone can do it – older people, kids, families, business people, rural residents, middle-income families, low-income families – just about anyone with a pair of walking shoes can experience the benefits of Walk Across Texas.

For more information, please contact MaryRuth Peacock, CEA-FCS, at Donley County Extension 874-2141 or Frances Smith at 874-9222.