Etake A Hike!
Volksmarche Offer Scenic Beauty
Friendship And Fun For Walkers

by Darline Turner Lee, Physician Assistant, ACSM Exercise Specialist

Article Last Reviewed: Sept. 9, 2006

A new year provides a blank canvas for new ideas and projects. “It’s a fresh start. This time I’ll get it right”, we say to ourselves. Sadly, statistics show that most new endeavors started on New Year’s Day are history by. Within ninety days many of us have lost our perspective, strayed from our plans, abandoned our dreams and reverted back to our habitual comfort zones. This is most true regarding resolutions to get fit and lose weight.

Why is it so difficult to stick with a fitness program? Fitness professionals ponder this question while trying to develop strategies that will keep their clients interested, motivated, and committed to their fitness programs. As a health and fitness professional, I strive to maintain a client’s interest long enough for them to see the results they desire. To gain perspective, I surveyed people about their fitness habits.

Individuals who have been unsuccessful at maintaining a regular fitness regimen cite lack of time as the main reason they don’t regularly exercise. Crowded gym facilities, lack of beginner classes, childcare issues and overconfident, spandex clad “trainers” are major deterrents. Looking at the issue more critically, lack of enjoyment in physical activity is at the root of the problem. Folks who have managed to adhere to a fitness regimen say when they found an activity they were fairly good at and enjoyed, they made it fit into their schedules.

It boils down to this: if exercise is fun, easy to do, non-competitive and non-intimidating, the fitness-challenged among us are more willing to give it a try. To these individuals (and other interested parties) I’d like to introduce Volksmarch.

A volksmarch is a noncompetitive ten-kilometer walk (six-point-two miles). It’s not really a march, which is what military people do in formation; march is German for walk.

According to the American Volkssport Association (AVA), the umbrella organization for volksmarches in this country, a volksmarch is “not a pledge walk. It’s not a race. It’s a fun activity you do with a club, with your family, with your pet, or all by yourself.”

There are more than three hundred fifty volkssport clubs throughout the United States, which collectively organize more than three thousand walking events each year. Member chapters pick a location and obtain event approval from the local authorities. They set the dates, the start and finish points, map out the route, designate the difficulty of the route and establish the checkpoints along the route where water and portable potties are available. They also place markers along the routes so participants can easily follow the trails.

“I became involved in volkssport because I love to walk, but my husband had no interest in walking with me” says Carol Castlebury. “I didn’t feel safe going on walks by myself. I learned of volksmarches and the Colorado River Walkers a few years ago. I now walk on beautiful trails in relative safety. Because the walks start and end at designated times, if I don’t check in, someone will come looking for me.”
The first march organized by this club was around Town Lake according to Bunker Ehlert, the group’s historian.

“Some fraternity boys organized the first two marches. Then John Luther, a businessman, and his associates, continued to grow the group and organize marches.” Currently, there are a hundred members in the Colorado River Walkers group.

Volksmarches are ranked in difficulty from one to five. A level one march is usually flat, and on a paved or well-defined path. These are great for families with children, even pushing strollers and for those new to walking. A level five march is very strenuous, much like mountain hiking, and covers rugged terrain. These walks require hiking boots, and walking sticks are recommended. At many marches, there is also a five-kilometer (three point one mile) march for beginners.

But you can enjoy walks without waiting for one of the scheduled volksmarches by taking advantage of pre-planned, self-paced Year Round Events (YREs). YRE’s cover routes designated by the AVA as suitable for all levels of walkers all year round. These walks are typically established in cities, and wind through historical areas and past local attractions. In Austin, one of three YRE routes goes from Town Lake to the LBJ Library. It begins at the Homestead Inn on Barton Springs Road and South First Streets. There are also YRE’s in Georgetown, Pflugerville and Round Rock.

At the designated starting point, there is a “walk box” containing a start card and map of the route. You fill out a start card, takes a map of the route indicating points of interest and then walk the route. When finished with the walk, insert the walk card with the three-dollar fee in the self-addressed envelope, and mail it all to the local club for credit (if desired). YREs, as with all local volksmarches, are free of charge unless walkers want to apply for awards, which cost from three dollars to six dollars.

Volksmarches are open to all who wish to participate. They are non-competitive and participants go at their own pace. Marches organized by the Colorado River Walkers are hosted on a Saturday and Sunday of a given weekend. Participant can check in between eight in the morning and noon, and are required to complete the walk before sundown or other designated time. You don’t have to be a club member to participate.

If you wish to become an active volkssport participant, then purchase a new walker’s packet from AVA (see contact info in accompanying article) or at a volkmarche event. The packet contains an event booklet and distance booklet. At each volksmarche, participants pay three dollars and get their books stamped to record participation in the event and to record the distance walked. When a participant has done a certain number of events or walked a certain distance, the booklets may be sent to the AVA for patches, medals and other recognition.

If one enjoys volksmarch and wants to become actively involved, one can join a local club. Membership in the Colorado River Walkers is ten dollars annually. The group meets monthly to organize volksmarches, to attend marches as a group and to fellowship. They are organizing a volksmarche for January 29-30 in Bastrop.

The San Marcos River Walkers also organizes one volksmarche annually, the next one is scheduled for April 2005, and members participate in a variety of local and charity events such as the American Heart Association Walk.

Volksmarche members say walking becomes addictive. “I have walked forty of the fifty states and am on a three year plan to complete all fifty,” states Barbara Persol, the president of the San Marcos River Walkers.

Carol Castlebury recalls, “On one of my first walks, I teamed up with another new walker. We have become good friends and often meet at volksmarches to walk. When I went on a walk in Kerrville, my friend’s hometown, I called her to get the name of a good restaurant. She not only gave me the name of a fabulous restaurant, she also invited us to her home for a visit. It was a wonderful day.”

Carol Obianwu, another member of the Colorado River Walkers says, “Many members plan their vacations (nationally and internationally) around where there are marches and YRE’s. A volksmarche exposes you to sights you won’t see on a tour. You see so much more and get up close views as you walk through cities.”

According to Persol, not a native Texan, “I know more about many Texas cities than many native Texans as a result of volksmarches.”

So hit the road! Explore your native Texas or other exciting locations around the world through volksmarches-and in the bargain help keep that New Year’s resolution!

Trot along with Darline Turner-Lee at dturner-lee@goodlifemag.com

A Short Walk Through History

Volksmarch originated in Germany during the early nineteen sixties. Originally designed to promote as competitive running events, the program gradually lost its appeal to the general public. To regain public interest, West Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria founded the Internationaler Volkssportverband (IVV), or International Federation of Popular Sports in 1968. The countries developed a union of nonprofit sports organizations to promote folkssport (family-oriented, for the general public) events. .

Volkssport started in the United States in 1976 in nearby Fredericksburg. In June 1979, the American Volkssport Association (AVA) was formally organized and officially recognized by the IVV. Now there are thirty-five volkssport walking clubs in Texas today.

Today, there are thirty-three member nations involved in volkssport, including the United States, Canada and much of Europe, and member clubs stage a variety of events including walking, biking, swimming and skiing. Here in Central Texas, the local clubs focus solely on volksmarches, the walking sport.

—Darline Turner-Lee

Volksport Resources
The two local Volkssport clubs mentioned in the accompanying article may be contacted as follows:

Colorado River Walkers—Visit www.io.com/~zenteer/crw. For information about events or joining, call Bonnie McDonald at 512-280-2057.
San Marcos River Walkers—Call Barbara Person at 512-396-4463.

To learn more about Volkssport, visit the web site for the American Volkssport Association at www.ava.org. There you will find not only a bundle of information about the sport but numerous publications for sale, including:

The American Wanderer—This is the national subscription magazine of the AVA available to volkssport members for $25 a year for individuals, $30 for families. It’s a bimonthly publication that lists all upcoming events nationwide, has color photos of events, articles about health, fitness and walking, and articles about people who have walked significant distances, lists of Individual achievement awards nationwide, list of clubs nationwide and information on upcoming special events.

Starting Point: The AVA Guide to 1100+ Unique Walking Trails In America—This is the annual AVA Year Round Event Book. All the YREs in the United States are listed here, including specifics about the courses.

There are also magazines available for various regions of the United States. Other walk booklets available include The United States Capitals, College Campuses, Presidential Events and The Civil War. Each of these booklets give information on YREs that take participants around points of interests for these specific categories. Each booklet is five dollars, and each walk is three dollars.

The AVA has a ten-day conference every two years consisting of seminars and daily volksmarches. Here, participants learn more about walking, fitness and health.