The World’s Best Walks!

One of the best ways to see the sights while on vacation is to walk – that or taking a jet-pack, but until we can use those, walking it is! The pace of a walk is perfect if you want to ensure you don’t miss anything on your adventure. While walking, it is easy to converse with your fellow travellers about the route, or to yourself if you want to be left alone and in peace. Without further ado, here are 5 of the world’s best walks:

1. The Great Wall of China: Built between 220-206 BC the wall stretches for 8,851.8 km, so this walk is not for the faint of heart. While walking, take in the breathtaking scenery and learn about the history of the most famous wall in the world. Even though it is a myth, we still like to believe that the next time we are in space we will be able to see the Great Wall.
2. Abbey Road: London, England has many amazing walks to offer, including the Jack the Ripper walking tour, the Tower of London walk and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre walk. However, Abbey Road is a definite favourite. How can you compete with Abbey Road? Make sure to take a pic of you as John, Paul, George or Ringo and send it to us to post on our Flickr page!
3. Capilano Suspension Bridge: The bridge, crossing the Capilano River north of Vancouver, is 136 metres long and 70 metres above the river. It was originally built in 1889, but don’t worry, there have been some improvements since then. If you do want to walk the bridge, you’d better get there early as there are over 800,000 visitors a year - that’s over 2,100 a day!
4. CN Tower Glass Floor: Head to the CN Tower in Toronto, hold your breath, and have a walk on their glass floor. It’s no big deal; you’ll only be looking 1,122 feet straight down. The floor is only 256 square feet, so you won’t get your exercise circling the area, you’ll get it by climbing up the 11,776 stairs it takes to get there.
5. MS Walk: It involves over 60,000 participants and volunteers in more than 160 beautiful communities across Canada. Each walk has its own unique quality that makes it special. Why not try to walk in all of them? It might be a tall order seeing as not everyone lives until 160 years old, but you could try to experience a different location each year. Plus, you’ll be walking to help end Multiple Sclerosis!

Nothing allows you to soak in your surroundings like a nice walk. Why not send us your list of favourite places to walk, or the best walks you’ve ever had? Email them to greg.johnson@mssociety.ca or post them on our Facebook wall.

Calorie Burning Comparison

Everyone knows that walking is beneficial to your health. But a lot of people are skeptical about its actual weight loss and calorie burning capabilities. That is why we have put together an informative chart for you so that you can compare walking with other activities. Enjoy!

Information found at; http://bit.ly/q19bs2

60 minutes of:	Is equal to burning:	Or the same as:
Bird Watching	178 calories	40 minutes of walking
Hanging Storm Windows	340 calories	75 minutes of walking
Flying an Airplane	142 calories	30 minutes of walking
Hugging	71 calories	16 minutes of walking
Laying Tile	306 calories	68 minutes of walking
Automotive Repair	214 calories	47 minutes of walking

The next time you’re out enjoying the nice weather with a walk in the park, remember, if you walk for 30 minutes, that’s the same as flying an airplane from Timmins to Windsor! 

The History of Walking

Geoff Nicholson, in his book ‘The Art of Walking’ wrote;

“Looked in a certain way, walking is the most ordinary, natural, ubiquitous activity. What could be more commonplace or lacking in eccentricity than the act of walking?”

Here are some important “walking” dates throughout history:

• 4 million years BC or thereabouts: Australopithecus afarensis begins the fad of two-legged walking, the defining trait of family Hominidae. Two-legged walking frees up the hands to use for making tools, tying shoes, etc.

• 8,000 to 10,000: North American natives make and wear sandals.

• 1589: Sir Robert Carey walks 300 miles from London to Berwick on a wager.

• 1864: Black Forest Wanderverien is founded, which is now the world’s oldest walking club.

• 1969: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon. Makes you feel bad for Michael Collins; he didn’t get out to stretch his legs.

• 1991: The first MS Walk in Canada.

• 2011: We commemorate 20 years of the MS Walk!
• Excerpt from about.com.; http://bit.ly/qBFQvb

Keep those feet moving, and your name might headline the next chapter in the great book of walking!

Race Walking!

What activity started in 1880, has been an Olympic sport since 1904 and is governed by rules known as ‘Straight Leg Rule’ and ‘Loss of Contact’?

Race walking of course! It’s a long-distance foot race in which the athletes must walk and not run. There are basically two rules of race walking: firstly the back toe of the athlete cannot leave the ground until the heel of the front foot has touched the ground, secondly the supporting leg must straighten from the point of contact with the ground and remain straightened until the body passes directly over it. It’s not as simple as it sounds, and race walkers have to keep up rigorous training schedules, just as runners do.  

Although the sport originated in England it has been dominated by Russians. The world record for the Women’s 20km walk is 1:24:50 by Olimpiada Ivanova and the Men’s world record is held by Sergey Morozov, with a time of 1:26:46, they are both from Russia.  

Here is a YouTube clip of what it’s all about: http://bit.ly/n04wq2

Try it yourself; see if you have the Race Walking bug, we’ll make sure to look for you at the 2012 London Olympics!

What's Your Story?

We want to hear from you! Now that the MS Walks are over, we want to hear about your experience. How and why are you involved? How many years have you been walking? What is your favourite part of the MS Walks? Write us a funny story, a happy story, an inspirational story, and we will share it with our readers here on the MS Walk blog. Include a picture too to spice things up.  We can’t wait to hear your story!

E-mail your stories to greg.johnson@mssociety.ca and check back regularly to see if yours is posted. 

Etobicoke MS Walk A Success!

The 15^th annual Etobicoke MS Walk was another great success this year! 619 walkers braved the cold, rain & snow to raise $151,164 to end MS.

Walkers were cheered on by Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders and Argonauts Jeff Johnson and Chad Remple. The Toronto Firefighters’ Association brought a fire truck for the kids to play on and had it mark the start of the 5km and 10km routes with a big HONK of the horn.

After 12 years as Chair of the Etobicoke MS Walk, Nadine Bertola will be retiring from the committee. Her passionate leadership has transformed the Etobicoke MS Walk into the incredible event it is today. Her contributions include sourcing great prizes and gift bags full of goodies as well as implementing the Kick-Off Event at Plant World and Celebrity Server Night at Kelsey’s. Nadine has worked tirelessly to ensure all who attend have a great time. Thank you Nadine for your dedication and passion. You will be greatly missed.  The MS Society wishes you the best of luck on your next adventure. 

If you are interested in joining the 2012 Etobicoke MS Walk Committee or for more information, please contact laura.franklin@mssociety.ca.

Pictured above: Honourary Chair Jeff Johnson and Outgoing Committee Chair Nadine Bertola

Reel and Deal!

The fourth annual Reel and Deal event to benefit the MS Society takes place this Thursday, July 7, in Port Perry. Pro fisherman, generous sponsors, and guests get together to raise money to end MS. It will be an action packed day of fun for the whole family! There will be fishing, great food, poker, and all for a great cause!  Last year’s event raised $65,000 to support MS Research and Client Services in the Markham/Stouffvile, York North, and York South Chapters.

Date: Thursday, July 7, 2011

Location: Lake Scugog, Goreski’s Landing

225 Platten Boulevard, Port Perry

Registration: 7:00 am to 8:00 am

Start & End Times: 8:00 am to 6:30 pm

You can get in the spirit by watching highlights from the previous Reel and Deal events through the MS Society of Canada YouTube Channel.


To take part in this year's event, please contact Freya Potter, Senior Coordinator, Fundraising and Volunteer Management at 1-800-268-7582 ext. 3157 or freya.potter@mssociety.ca.