The Great Saunter: A 32 Mile Adventure

Building off of our successful Malden half-marathon a couple of weeks ago and fifteen miles of walking and running yesterday, I’m getting closer to a new goal: The Great Saunter. This is a 32 mile walk around the perimeter of Manhattan, to be held on May 7th. I learned of it from a fellow singer in the Longwood Chorus who plans to participate in the event.

Why would anyone want to risk blisters, chafing, heat stroke, and rhabdomyolysis to walk for twelve hours? Perhaps the beautiful weather, river views, and Statue of Liberty? Maybe for the “fun” of it? Long distance walking does seem to be beneficial for cardiovascular and mental health.

I love to walk and to be outside. As an advocate, I like to push back against car culture and fossil fuels whenever I can and demonstrate to people that they can walk and run. In addition, I’ve spent a lot of time in New York City over the years and it never occurred to me that I might be able to walk around the perimeter of Manhattan.

In addition, this walk would be about health equity and federally qualified community health centers (FQHCs). FQHCs are America’s backbone and they are neglected. We need a single payer/ Medicare-for-all and a major reinvestment in FQHCs. I believe we need a Marshall Plan to rebuild our FQHC infrastructure. We have the money in America – it’s just a question of if we have the political will to do the right thing.

In the meantime, I need to start putting in the miles. We’re only 6 weeks away from The Great Saunter.

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