It started as a way to pass the time in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was basically just bored and I thought, I’m going to put on some music, go for a walk, and see how it goes. And basically, I’ve never stopped,” Charleswood resident Jared Brown told CTV News. “I think it was about a 30-minute walk, and at the time, I thought it was pretty far.”
Fast forward nearly 1,800 days later and Brown is still on the go. In fact, he hasn’t skipped a single day yet.
“I try to go for ten kilometers every single day,” Brown said. “Some days are a little busier than others – I might only go for eight or nine, and some days go for 12 or 13 if it’s really nice.”
To put that in perspective, Brown has basically walked the distance of Vancouver to St. John’s and back again in less than five years.
He typically sticks to tried and true routes in Charleswood, but often ventures outside of the neighbourhood. He’s walked from the banks of the Assiniboine River below the Moray Bridge all the way to The Forks, as well as to his father’s house in Windsor Park.
He’s also hit the pavement in cities across the continent including Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Minneapolis.
“Wherever I am, I’m going to find a time to do it,” Brown said. “Sometimes that might even mean doing laps of the airport, which people probably think I’m a little bit crazy for.”
Health Canada recommends adults get at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week to help prevent heart disease, and to reap plenty of other benefits.
“It’s good for bones, it’s good for muscles,” Michelle Porter, a kinesiology professor at the University of Manitoba, told CTV News. “And there’s lot beyond the physical benefits… in terms of your brain, cognition, memory. It helps you sleep.”
Porter said walking is a great physical activity for people looking to get moving and suggests starting at a comfortable pace and distance.
“If you can really build it into your life as something that you do – not something that you have to go out of your way to do – then that can really help to make it into a routine,” Porter said.
Brown said his physical health has never been better since he started walking, and the time spent away from the daily grind has done wonders for his mental well-being.
“I like to say I don’t lead the most stressful life in the world, but it’s still nice to kind of decompress and take that time for myself,” Brown said. “It’s really just an opportunity for me to not think about anything and just be outside.”
He said he has no plans to end his walking streak anytime soon and encourages other people to simply put one foot in front of the other.
