On Thursday, March 16, the Boothbay Region Health & Wellness Foundation partnered with the YMCA to host a St. Patrick's Day Luncheon and Awards Ceremony. It was well attended by Y regulars who participate in Abby Jones' Senior Fitness Classes and by the Wellness Foundation's Awesome Seniors' Y walkers.

Who are the Awesome Seniors?

Thanks to the generosity of the management of the YMCA and its board, the Awesome Seniors' Y-Walkers' program has been running successfully since March 2014. A group of local seniors began meeting in the fall of 2013 to brainstorm ways we could help local seniors who wanted to remain living independently in their homes for as long as possible. The first idea we came up with was regular exercise -- particularly in the winter months. So we approached the Y, and asked whether we could start a pilot program of walking on the indoor track. It was important to us that there be no barriers to participation. Nobody should need to apply for membership to the Y in order to be part of this program. We were offered the opportunity to open the track up to any and all seniors (ages 62+) for walking on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon -- a time when walking traffic was light. We agreed on a six-month pilot. At the end of the six months, we met with Y management and told them how successful the program had been to-date. They agreed that we could continue.

Since the launch of this program on March 18, 2014, over 272 local seniors, ranging in age from 62 to 99 have availed themselves of this wonderful free program. Some people have walked a few times and then, having discovered the Y, become members. Others have been satisfied coming twice a week to walk indoors. For many, walking at the Y has become a routine and a big part of their social activities each week.

In this past year, there were 106 Awesome Senior active walkers ranging in age from 61 to 99, with an average age of 72. These seniors walked a combined total of 16,320 laps or 2,040 miles. Depending on the time of year and the weather, the number of walkers on a given day ranged from a low of 2 (during one of our blizzards) to a high of 28 people. The average number of walkers per day was 14. The average number of laps per person/per session was 11. The average number of miles walked by each person each session was 1.4 miles.

Y-Walkers' Awards

The person who walked the most days this year was Bill Dunton, who walked 92 times in a year and totaled 180 miles for the year. The second place winner was Marilyn Goode, who walked 62 days for a total of 65 miles this year, despite several illnesses and hospitalizations. Each time she was released from the hospital, Marilyn counted the days until she could get back to her regular walking routine. Barbara Hamilton came in third. She walked 50 days last year with a total of 101 miles.

The Awesome Senior Y-Walker who walked the most miles this year was Connie Machon who walked 244 miles in 76 walking sessions. Second place was her husband, Ira Machon, who walked 139 miles in 71 days. Third, was Mike McBride, who walked 75 miles in 28 days.

Our oldest Y-Walker is Trudie Seybold at 99 1/2. Trudie walked 26 times, for a total of five miles this year.