Hey, I’m a Winner! Or at least in Winner

Holy cow, the WalK season is now officially two-thirds through!

As my wife and I were on our Sept. 31 walk along the 7.8 mile course we have set up through the rolling hills north of Benton, we were discussing exactly why I had come to explore the idea of walking this year.

With eight months now having passed, I absolutely can not even remember what spurred me to want to try this whole 5K-a-day walking thing. The only thing I can tell you is that I am glad I did. It has gotten me off the couch and doing something productive that will hopefully add years of health to my life. If nothing else, it has given me a chance to spend more quality time with my best friend, who is thrilled (at least that is what she tells me to my face) that I have joined her daily walking routine.

Speaking of Ann, we recently had a bit of a scare when she came up with a tender knee which sidelined her for several days. But after a doctor’s appointment and a few days off, the swelling and tenderness subsided and she was back hard at it.

Ann’s time off from school for the summer has helped her crush through the miles, and it has actually put her on a pace to reach San Diego by the end of the year. Whether or not she can continue the torrid pace since school started again remains to be seen, but she is a real trooper, and I would not put it past her to reach the ridiculous 2,000 mile goal I forced on her at the beginning of this virtual march across the country. To date she is averaging 5.4 miles per day, which is a ton considering that she is trying to teach and take care of four boys at home.

As for our treks, she has veered south, while I am logging miles to the north.

What do John Denver, Demi Moore, Ronnie Lott and Neil Patrick Harris have in common? All are born in or very near Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is where Ann finds herself after finishing off August with 1,322.5 miles. It is truly amazing how the miles rack up little by little.

As for me, I am now entering the town of Winner, South Dakota, a town with a population of 3,137, which is 851.1 miles from home.

Winner! That sounds appropriate for the way I feel because of this program. The real question is, how did Winner get its name?

Was it, a) the name established in 1909 after several towns had a race to see which one would become the town of choice for folks wanting to set up cap along the new railroad line; b) named by lawman and noted gambler John Farsburg after he won the town in a poker game with wealthy local entrepreneur William Jenkins in 1898; or c) renamed just this past year in honor of Charlie Sheen, who grew up just south of the town and brought the word “winner” into prominence through his infamous Twitter tweets after his escapades following his success from the show Two and a Half Men?

More on that later.

Last blog I wrote about how walking outdoors near our home in Benton awakened all of the senses. To get an idea as to exactly what the vibrance of lives entails in my neck of the woods, check out these photos.

Before winner, I would have tracked through Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where I could have stopped off and enjoyed LifeLight Music Festival. LifeLight is the largest Christian music festival in the nation, and takes place every Labor Day weekend. Acts like MercyMe, Newsboys, Sanctus Real and Lincoln Brewster perform there, and it sees more than 300,000 music fans at the scene.

At exactly 3.5 miles per day, which includes some days here I recorded a big fat zero because I didn’t have time to walk, I am well above my 5K-a-day average I need to make my 1,000 mile goal. I am even well above the 3.1 miles I need to reach Denver, Colorado by the first of next year, so I am feeling pretty doggone good about the whole project.

Walking has now become a way of life for me, and I just don’t quite feel right if I don’t get out for at least a quick three mile jaunt. That in itself seems almost absurdly simple now, since the 7.8 mile trek is the preferred choice of distance for us, although Ann would certainly walk more if she had time.

As for Winner, South Dakota, if you said yes to Charlie Sheen, you’d be wrong. Nor would you “b” correct for choosing the poker game. The answer was the railway option, with Winner growing up into a thriving metropolis back in the day, while the other three contestants became the proverbial ghost towns.

Keep on walking, and if you’re not, I highly suggest it. It is so good in so many ways.