Crowland woman spreads the good news after walking to be fit

A Crowland mother-of-two has taken a double dose of advice from Scottish pop duo The Proclaimers and walked 1,000 miles in seven months.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Dec 2016, 06:00 BST
Ann Grundy of Crowland who walked 1,000 miles in a seven-month period this year. Photo supplied.Ann Grundy of Crowland who walked 1,000 miles in a seven-month period this year. Photo supplied.
Ann Grundy of Crowland who walked 1,000 miles in a seven-month period this year. Photo supplied.

Instead of saying to herself “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, as brothers Charlie and Craig Read sang in 1988, Ann Grundy (63) went from ‘couch potato’ to walking ambassador to finish the challenge last month.

Ann, who also has five grandchildren, is now spreading the word about health and leisure website “Live for the Outdoors” and its #walk1000miles 2017 campaign.

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“I had a hip problem for two years and wasn’t able to walk very far at all,” Ann said.

“So last year, I had an operation which helped me to walk better and I was given a copy of an outdoor walking magazine in which this Walk 1,000 Miles challenge was mentioned.

“I set off with my husband David and we did the walk together over a period of seven months.

“There was a Walk 1,000 Miles group whose members were so supportive and they encouraged me all the way and in the last year, I went from being a coach potato to a volunteer, working as an ambassador for the #walk1000miles2017 challenge.”

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Created by the magazine Country Walking, the challenge is to walk 1,000 miles next year in an average of 2.74 miles a day, wherever and however people wish to do it.

The magazine and Live for the Outdoors website both describe the challenge as “an honesty-based scheme”, but the craze has spread from mainland UK to the Shetland Islands, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Spain, Austria, Denmark and Germany.

Ann, a part-time receptionist at The Abbeyview Surgery in Crowland, said: “People don’t realise how good walking is and how many health benefits there are with it.

“It’s free, you can do it on your own or in groups, you can do it in Crowland, Peterborough or on holiday in Scotland as I did in September when my husband and I went to the Braemar (Highland Games) Gathering.

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“We happened to meet another lady from Yorkshire and we both had the same #walk1000miles2016 badge on.”

Ann has spread the word of walking to her nephew in Leicestershire and niece in America, with her own plans now extending to walking 2,017 miles in 2017.

“David and I have realise ourselves how nice it is to go out for a walk,” Ann said.

For more details, visit http://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/walk1000miles