My parents walked the first 6.2 miles of the marathon with us. Participation by my mom was no surprise. However, it was huge for my dad. He was not exactly supportive of her initial quest to be physically active.
Only a family of superheroes could get him to not just walk a mile, but to enjoy it. He is no longer with us and I fondly remember how he bragged about his Honolulu accomplishment.
So, when I was recruited in St Louis to be on a virtual 2012 GirlTrek Team out of Kansas City, it was a no-brainer for me to recruit my mom, sisters, brothers, nieces, cousins and friends. The response was enthusiastic. My four sisters and two brothers became trekkers right away.
Fast forward to 2016. My sisters Susie and Barbara and a host of friends I had recruited from Phoenix, Las Vegas, Houston and Detroit got on one of 50 GirlTrek buses to Selma. We joined GirlTrek and thousands of marchers on the Edmund Pettis Bridge to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the police attack that spurred passage of the Voting Rights Act.
Susie Paige and trekkers from her church – Team Nazarene – are the persistence and love behind growing the GirlTrek movement in Philly. My brother James put on a GirlTrek shirt and helped Susie launch a team at his workplace several years ago. He reports that this workplace team still walks at lunch.
Okella Paige Trice embraced hiking with Team Los Angeles and her daughter Vanessa spreads the #Harriet message each year with her daughter and friends.
Kathy Paige Cooper (Atlanta) and her daughters (Delaware) also embraced GirlTrek early. Her granddaughter is the 2017 winner of the GirlTrek Next Generation Award and has been a trekker most of her five years on earth.
Kathy’s daughter Ashlee has shed 110 pounds since March 2016. She says, “I definitely contribute much of my dedication over the last year to my family who lives by example. I now trek almost every day.”
Team Houston has Barbara Paige, who has hosted GirlTrek events, and joins group walks in her neighborhood.