On February 22, 1861, Edward Weston left Boston to attend Abraham Lincoln’s presidential inauguration.
The difference between Weston and thousands of other people who attended was his means of transportation. He walked the 478 miles from Boston to Washington D.C. When he arrived at 5 p.m. on March 4, 1861, he found himself a national celebrity.
Realizing that he had discovered a financial opportunity, Weston started to promote himself as a professional walker. His breakthrough came when a company paid him $10,000 to walk 1200 miles from Portland, Maine to Chicago in 1867 as a promotion for its products.
This experience only increased Weston’s fame. Soon he was earning thousands of dollars crisscrossing the country in exchange for advertising various items.
Next Weston invented competitive walking. He arranged contests where he would compete with other walkers for prize money. Hundreds responded and thousands gathered to watch as the walkers moved through towns on different routes.
Edward Weston’s success inspired hundreds of thousands of people to start walking recreationally. Before Weston, individuals only walked out of necessity. Now people walked for pleasure.
Soon people noticed that the more they walked, the slimmer and fitter they became. Weston’s walking craze eventually became today’s fitness craze.
I have been alternately walking and running for over 30 years. I feel great and I sleep great. Although I run 2-3 days a week, walking is the foundation of my health and fitness. When I am stressed, I walk. If I feel depressed, I walk. My stress disappears and my depression evaporates.
A fit body helps you serve God more effectively.
Walking is a pathway to fitness. I recommend it.
The Bible says in I Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit…Therefore honor God with your bodies.” NIV
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