Beginning March 25, everyone at WVU Potomac State College is encouraged to lace up their walking shoes.
Dr. Jerry Wallace, president of WVU PSC, wants to get faculty, students, and staff together on Wednesdays and simply go for a walk.
“I want to start Walking Wednesdays,” he said. “I want to get as many people together as we can around 3 p.m. every Wednesday and just go for a walk.”
Wallace said the intent is not to start a new club or to make anything formal or even official.
“We could talk while we walk, but we don’t have to. I’m not a big talker when I walk, so I don’t expect everyone to be having big, important talks,” he said. “You can bring your earbuds and put them in. Or put one earbud in so you can listen to people talking with the other ear. I would just like to see everyone involved.”
The first “Walking Wednesday” is set to kick off on March 25, following the Day of Giving event. Interested participants should meet at the Quad, wearing attire fit for a walk around campus. WVU PSC branding merchandise is not required, but encouraged.
“Let’s all wear our Catamounts T-shirts and Potomac State gear and get out there and walk,” Wallace said. “Let’s create this sea of blue and gold.”
Wallace said he sees the weekly walks as not only an initiative-taking healthy activity but an opportunity to network. He said students walking with staff and faculty will create deeper levels of communication and respect for one another. He also said that while participants are walking, they can also make the campus more beautiful.
“If we see trash along the way or anything we need to pick up, let’s stop and pick it up,” he suggested.
While the idea of walking and talking informally on a regularly scheduled basis with the head of a college may be a new concept, regularly scheduled walking events on campus are not an entirely new concept.
Michelle House, behavioral health therapist at Potomac State College, organizes “Wellness Walks” monthly. The group meets at Reynolds Hall and then walks a route that varies depending on the number of participants and the season of the year.
“The idea behind our walks is Mindful Walking,” she said. “With every step of the walk, you are thinking about your steps, engaging your mind, and allowing your thoughts to process. Our mindful walking activities are as much a mental exercise and help clear the mind as much as the physical exercise you would get.”
Mindful Walking is a meditation practice that involves walking intentionally while focusing on the physical sensations of movement, such as the contact of feet on the ground, the swing of arms, and the breath. By observing the present moment and sensory details without judgment, it reportedly helps reduce stress, improve mood, and increase body and spatial awareness.
Walking as an exercise has also been widely known to strengthen the heart, improve blood circulation, lower blood pressure, assist in weight management, increase bone density, improve the immune system, help slow diseases, assist in healthier sleep, and reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease. While 10,000 steps a day remains a popular and common goal, studies show that walking as few as 2,200 steps daily can start to reduce the risk of heart disease, with benefits rising as step count increases.
Dr. Wallace, his wife, Allyson, and their two children are often seen walking the campus, usually on Friday evenings.
“I like going for walks, so I basically want to see if people want to join me on a weekly walk,” he said. “I hope to see as many people as possible on March 25 when we kick this thing off. Let’s all just get out and go for a walk and see how it goes."