Walking Clubs

[WayWalker63]

Thanks to gnhale I recently found a walking club in my town. Evidently they have them all over the U.S., Canada and Europe. Who knew!?

Google, Volks Walking Clubs, if you are interested in finding one in your area of the globe.

If you are in N. Florida here is the address for the First Coast Trail Forgers Club.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A ... eipOPUSn0Q

They also have a Facebook page.

Looks like a fun way to get in shape, practice some distance walking and meet some nice people. Who knows maybe some of them have walked the Camino or would be interested in walking.

 

[Kitsambler]

International Volkssportverband (http://www.ivv-web.org/english/) is the world body for volkssport (which includes walking and bicycling). The goal is to improve fitness generally through non-competitive exercise in a social context.

The American Volkssport Association (http://www.ava.org) is the national body here in the US, and you can look up local walking events and state-level associations on their website. There is a particularly strong group here in the Pacific Northwest; Texas and eastern Virginia are also quite active. All activities are planned and conducted by the local clubs, so there is quite a lot of variability from place to place.

Here in the US, the standard event is 10 km in two hours. Some events are one-time special events with a fixed date and starting time; others are marked routes you complete on your own individual schedule. Sometimes there is a 5 km route; you can always do two laps of a 10 km route to make 20 km if you want.

I found this very helpful structure and motivation for me in my training preparation, and I recommend this organization if there is a club active in your local area.

 

[SabsP]

The belgian federation.
http://www.vvrs-info.be/Vlaamse_Wandelf ... e_hand.htm

My favourite way of walking ( and preparing for the Camino ) are following kind of walks.
Walks from the regional parks where you can combine different walks into one bigger day walk....
Also nice is that most walks will have a nice country pub or café.
http://www.sintpietersberg.org/wandelen ... n-map.html
http://www.rlkm.be/nl/hoge-kempen/toegangspoorten/
Belgian federation incorporates these routes in their walks.

 

[WayWalker63]

Thanks Kitsambler and SabineP- for the added information.
All of this was new to me so I thought that others might like the information as well.