Group takes walking tour to promote healthy life
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on June 2, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MATT CAULDER
Participants in the Go, Wayne, Go Summer Walk group gear up for the last leg of the hike out at the Cliff of the Neuse State Park. The group meets each Thursday to walk in various places around Goldsboro.
Go, Wayne, Go, a health initiative designed to build a healthier Wayne County, is starting to get its message of lifestyle change out to the community.
And its members are doing so -- one step at a time.
Go, Wayne, Go has formed a walking group, which meets every Thursday at various places to spend one hour walking.
The Summer Walk group will meet this week at the Stoney Creek North greenway behind Bicycle World at 6 p.m.
"This is what it is all about." said Becky Craig, Go, Wayne, Go member and Wayne Memorial Hospital chief financial officer. "Getting out and moving."
About 20 people, and one dog, gathered at the Cliffs of the Neuse State Park Thursday to spend one hour hiking the trails at the park.
After the hike, participants were given Go, Wayne, Go T-shirts, which include the group's 5-3-2-1-0 logo. That's five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, three square meals, no more than two hours of time in front of a screen per day, one hour of exercise and zero sugary drinks.
Brittani Schultze-Gardner was back for her second walk with the group.
"I see a lot of different people than the first time I went," she said. "It's reaching a lot of different groups of people. People in different places or jobs, even different languages. It crosses the status quo."
Dana Buffington, an intern at the hospital from East Carolina University, said Greenville has paved trails but no outdoor walking trails like at the Cliffs.
"It's nice to have somewhere to come out on the trails like this," she said.
Jonathan McCarthy and his wife Anna Maria are new to the area and decided to come out to see what the walking group was all about.
"I don't live very far from here so I wanted to see what's around me," McCarthy said. "My wife just got here from New Jersey and she is the one that works out all the time."
The group even included a junior from Goldsboro High School.
Jattorrie Martin, a member of the Goldsboro High Key Club and the marching band, came out to walk the trails.
"When I heard about this I was thinking it was something I wanted to do," he said. "This is my specialty, coming out and walking around seeing things like this."
There is no registration fee and no advance contact is necessary, organizers say.
Those who want to walk, simply show up. The weekly locations can be found online on the group's website, www.gowaynego.org under the "events" tab.