Log in

FITNESS

New residents are taking it to the streets

Posted 2/1/21

They moved into their new homes Oct. 1, 2020, and while most senior adults were quarantining, these young retirees decided to make the most of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Avid walkers who moved to …

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor
FITNESS

New residents are taking it to the streets

Posted

They moved into their new homes Oct. 1, 2020, and while most senior adults were quarantining, these young retirees decided to make the most of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Avid walkers who moved to Ventana Lakes in the fall, Tammy Than and Mary Crowson made an unknowing pact to walk every street in Sun City after they got settled. “Unknowing” because chose the challenge while still living several states away before they moved to the Valley of the Sun from a small town in South Georgia where most people knew each other.

When their Realtor supplied them with a map they unfolded, their jaws dropped. Both wanted to keep their word and honor their commitment, even if no one else knew of their challenge. Fast forward 3.5 months and they have “walked the walk” even with the recent cold snap, weathering rainy days. Setting out pre-dawn, they don head lamps and flashing vests for safety while walking in the dark as the sun rises. The plan worked well until Jan. 25, when they walked more than two hours in southern Sun City in pouring rain and the thick clouds obscured any anticipated view of the warm, golden orb.

“We walked as many of the miles to and from neighborhoods as we could but we finally got to the point that we had to drive and park to make the best use of our time,” stated Ms. Crowson, who made the daily routes and highlighted the map after each leg of the journey. “Once we were walking the streets south of Grand Avenue, we had no other choice.”

“It’s been so much fun,” added Ms. Than, “even in a city where streets are very confusing as they stop and start. I found it extremely helpful to learn Sun City and the challenge kept us from getting bored with the same route.”

They noticed right away, for instance, that 107th Avenue was trumped by Del Webb Boulevard for several blocks and streets like Camden were short legs that didn’t join and would have been perplexing to early residents in the area. On average, they chipped away at the list 3-5 days each week while hiking and biking other areas of interest.

When they traverse the last Sun City route, they don’t plan to stop walking. Part of their daily routine along with weight training to stay in shape, they hope to find adjacent Peoria a bigger challenge to take on. With a city map, new shoes and highlighter in hand, they will take on the adjoining area like they did Sun City: one street at a time.