Read a personal message from the NAWC creator

New Albany Walking Classic founder, Phil Heit, talks about his goals and dreams for making the Walk into something more than just exercise

by Phil Heit

July 27, 2018

12:00 AM

An Unfinished Dream

In 2005, the inaugural New Albany Walking Classic was conducted. The impetus for this unusual undertaking resulted from an unfortunate situation. I was a serious and very competitive runner who developed knee problems that facilitated my premature retirement from the sport I cherished. Thus began my transformation from running to walking and my venture into the journey that meandered along the path of alternative approaches to wellness.

While the competitive spirit to run was entrenched in my DNA, so was the idea that creating a race for walkers only could yield multiple benefits with health-related implications extending to the mental, physical, social and spiritual domains. For every reason given by runners as to why they run, whether for stress reduction, cardiovascular health, forming relationships or inner peace, so can the same be said for walking. And with walkers in greater numbers than runners throughout North America, I strongly believed the walking movement could produce innovations such as those the Walk has generated in the city of New Albany.

The dream was never about just creating a walk but rather it was about wellness and how something as simple as walking can change lives. Here we are, 14 years after the concept to develop a walk came to fruition and so much has transpired. The Walk is now broadcast on live television in its entirety. The proceeds from this classic event have led to the creation of Healthy New Albany, a nonprofit organization impacting thousands of lives through myriad health initiatives that focus on prevention. The construction of a physical facility, the Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany has become a national model of programs that are helping individuals and communities to engage in a culture of health in ways that have never previously been implemented.

Because of the Walk, countless lives have been touched. The gratitude expressed by others, not for being given the opportunity to participate in a 10K distance, but rather to share with me how walking has been the impetus for healthy living has been most compelling. The New Albany Walking Classic changes lives. But much more must be done to reduce the many health risks that affect individuals and communities today. Until we have greater success in reducing these health risks, I will continue to dream.

Healthfully,

Phil Heit, Walking Classic Director

An Unfinished Dream

The sponsors for the 2018 New Albany Walking Classic