The leader of the running club invited me to join and said, “Just walk with us.” I went from walking to running and now I’m doing marathons. Our group started by running around the neighborhood, then we branched out to parks. It was a breath of fresh air.

There’s this one place over at White Oak Bayou on the top of the bridge, where downtown is behind you. When we go out there early in the morning, with the color of the sky and the way the buildings look, it’s really beautiful. When I run on Sundays, my 13-year-old son follows us on his bike. Running isn’t cool to him because mom does it, you know? But he loves his bike and the trails. He was having challenges with his weight and now he’s healthier and happier. We have a great time out there. We train all over—White Oak Bayou, Memorial Park, Buffalo Bayou, and others. Terry Hershey. That one is home to me. 

If you want to run, you can run. If you want to walk, you can walk. It’s not like any other running club. It’s really like a family. We get together all the time.

We have a GroupMe and someone will mention they’re going out and someone else will respond. We’re never alone. I don’t know if it’s because we’re all different ages and from different parts of the world, but we encourage each other and that’s something you don’t often find these days. After Chevron, our running leader came up with our current challenge: to partner up with someone and hit 2019 miles collectively. And we’re doing that. We’re showing up for each other.

Thank you to Aisha M. for sharing her story!

I’m 80: the oldest by only 2 weeks. The youngest is 72. When we started out, some of us weren’t in the best health and we could go little more than half a mile. Now we’ve worked up to 2 miles a day. It’s nice to know there’s a world out there that can be enjoyed and you don’t just have to sit at home in your rocking chair. It has been one of the best things that has happened to us. We have the greatest time on the trails at Herman Brown Park. We laugh so much. 

Walking in the park has really opened up a whole world for all us. We’ve made so many friends along the way that if we have to skip a day, people say, “Where have y’all been? We miss you!” One day when we were walking, we discovered a community garden maintained by the City of Houston and Furr High School. They needed volunteers so we adopted 3 plant beds. We’ve gotten to know the instructors and the students. It’s been a joy to grow vegetables and share a fresh harvest with the community.

That can be nothing but good for you. Once you start doing it, you’ll never regret it. Life is good.

Thank you to Sue B. for sharing her story!

It’s encouraging those who don’t frequent the park to see how nice it is and enjoying the amenities that are available to the entire community.  

When I first heard about Houston Parks Board’s plan to create miles of continuous bayou pathways, my first thought was, “How will that impact my community, and will my community get their share of those dollars and trails?” When Lisa of Houston Parks Board came to our civic association, she showed us a grand plan that was inclusive of our community, and we still weren’t sure if it would happen. But they followed through. They delivered. There were places where trails were put years ago that were in disrepair, and they put maintenance on it to make sure that, 6 months later, there aren’t overgrown weeds and a trail no one will use again. It gave everybody in the community a sense that they were serious about connecting citizens to the Bayou Greenways projects.

We’ve seen a big difference since the trails were put in. My grandkids are 7 and 9. These trails are clean, safe and wide—there’s so much space for them to ride around in. Our community has gotten the sense that this is a project that is inclusive of everyone. They said what they were gonna do, they did it, they delivered it, and it was as good as they said it was going to be. And they’re going to continue with that work with this new resting area at Martin Luther King Boulevard. It’s going to be a nook park with trees and benches. They bought the land there and took the initiative to enhance the trail and put this little park in. We’re really excited about it. 

Thank you to Charles C. for sharing his story!

get-moving-and-feeling-good

Showing Up

Sassy Silver Steppers

Trails For Everyone