Walking The World

Walk 500 - Take the Challenge!

by Ward Luthi
ISBN 0-615-11558-6
Walking the World
$15.95

REVIEW BY "BEAR" JACK GEBHARDT

If I were going for a walk in Addis Ababa, or Patagonia or the hills of Tuscany (which I just might do) I'd want Ward Luthi for a walking guide. He's a pro. He has over fourteen years of personal experience in "walking the world" and guiding folks aged 50 and better in the ups and downs of the walking art. Luthi makes for a gentle, humorous and insightful walking companion. He's in the right business.

So, too, if I were to embark on a daily "walking program," even just puttering around my neighborhood to prepare myself, if only mentally, for longer walking adventures, (and maybe to lose a little weight and keep the body oiled) I'd ask Luthi to be my guide. Fortunately, such a guide is exactly what we get in his new book, "Walk 500."(Walking the World Publishers, Fort Collins, $15.95) The book is designed primarily as a walking diary, but it also contains a detailed week-by-week program
to help the reader build up walking stamina in order to achieve the goal of walking 500 "measured" miles in one year's time.

The book is worth the cover price, regardless of how mature one is in the walking art, just to have in one place a concise record of a year's worth of walking, The daily diary entries-- with space allotted to document route, fellow walkers, distance, time, etc--- reveal Luthi's experienced eye and practical insights. The allotted spaces are exactly what one would want to record, -- no more, no less-- again, regardless of the "level of seriousness" with which one engages recreational walking.

This book will be especially helpful for those people who are just moving into a regular, dedicated walking routine. Luthi gently moves the beginner from the couch to the front porch to a refreshingly easy stroll around the garden. Then step by step, so to speak, helps such a one build the confidence and stamina to actually walk 500 miles in 365 days time.

More experienced walkers will appreciate Luthi's re-confirmation of the basics, and then find their horizons expanded with his numerous quotations about walking which are sprinkled throughout the book. For example, he quotes W.H. Davies: "The difference between a good walker and a bad one is that one walks with his heart, the other with his feet."

This is a book with heart. Following Luthi's simple and wise advice, the goal of walking 500 miles in one year's time should be attainable for almost anyone, regardless of "starting place." As a long time, almost daily walker myself, I've already started using his diary format, and hope he plans on coming out with another challenge next year! "Walk 500" is a great place to start for Luthi's (or your own) around the world adventures.

Bear Jack Gebhardt a full time free lance writer whose articles, essays and stories have appeared in a wide variety of national and international publications. He is the author of three books, with a fourth book now under contract. He is a regular and sometimes long distance walker.

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