Since June 10, 2017, Angie McLellan has begun her day the same way. Get up, strap on her headlamp, and get out the door by 5 a.m. for her daily walk around Boothbay Harbor. Rain or shine, snow or sleet.  

“There's plenty of excuses at 5 p.m. (after work), there's no excuses at 5 a.m.,” she said.

McLellan marks off each day with a sticker on her calendar, which is now full of stars and smiley faces. At the time of writing, McLellan had just completed her 2,775th walk, averaging four miles per day (with an extra mile or two thrown in on the weekends). This means she has walked about 11,100 miles so far, which is equivalent to traveling from Boothbay Harbor to San Francisco, California almost 3.5 times over. 

It's no secret that routine walking can have multiple health benefits. According to Harvard Medical School, walking can counteract the effects of weight-promoting genes, curb sweet tooth, reduce the risk of breast cancer, ease joint pain and boost the immune system. Even five minutes of walking for every 30 minutes of prolonged sitting can offset many of the harmful effects of immobility, according to recent studies from Columbia University.  

McLellan has also noticed benefits, such as healthy bloodwork, weight loss and a lack of body pain despite her long days spent standing as a bank teller. She tries to round out her routine by doing pilates multiple times a week, and participating in the Soft 75 Challenge. Its four tenets include eating well and only drinking on social occasions, exercising 45 minutes every day, drinking three liters of water and reading 10 pages of a book a day. 

However, McLellan says that beyond physical health, she has also found her mental health improved by her walking routine. In the quiet mornings, she gets to see the town slowly wake up. Lobstermen, her fellow early risers, greet her and she hears the rumble of their boats starting. The sun rises. She takes pictures to go on her Facebook page. Sometimes, McLellan finds a single shoe left on the sidewalk or, once, an abandoned suit jacket on Spruce Point that she theorizes was left behind from a summer wedding. Pictures of those go on her Facebook page, too, paired with a funny caption.  

“It just changes your outlook. It’s something you're doing just for yourself, not for anybody else but you."