Ken Bechtel - National Walker for Sportline Steps Across America

Ken Bechtel is one of 12 walkers will walk across the USA, beginning April 18, 2006 in New York City and ending 14 weeks later in Paramount, California. They will take turns walking 20 miles every 3 days in this 3100 mile cross-country relay walk. The walk is sponsored by Sportline pedometers, presented by TRACFONE prepaid wireless, and features health rallies at Wal-Mart stores along the way.
Sportline Steps Across America

Ken hails from Eureka, Illinois and was raised on a small farm. "I told myself that I would like to ride my bicycle across the country before I turned 40. When I found this opportunity last October, I was 39 and I realized that I was not likely to get this accomplished so walking across America seemed like a good substitute for now. As it turns out I will be starting this walk two days after my 40th birthday."
Ken Bechtel Bio

I have always enjoyed walking if I have the time to do it. Part of this interest stems from my passion for making environmentally sound choices when it comes to transportation. Many times, walking or biking does not take much longer than driving to my destination when you include the time it takes to find parking. The added bonus is that as well as being healthier for the environment it is also healthier for me.

I found the listing for the Sportline Steps Across America event on Craigslist.org and instantly thought "what a great way to see the country." Years ago I was attending college in Europe and would often be asked questions about parts of the United States that I had never seen. This made me realize just how much of my country I had yet to explore. And since then I have done my best to see as much of this country as I can.

I have been walking...a lot! When I started training a couple of months ago I walked home from a friends house, about 1 1/2 miles, and my legs and feet were hurting. I was seriously concerned that I had bitten off more than I could chew. I set up a plan to walk at least 4 - 5 days a week and now I can walk 20 miles without much difficulty.

Well as you can probably guess, good running shoes and socks are my top priority. I have a second pair of running shoes to change into at roughly the halfway mark of my days walk. They are that are a half size bigger than I normally wear since my feet will swell after that much walking. Also, I will be carrying a Sportline pedometer to monitor and track my steps across the country.

I will also focus on making sure to injest plenty of water and food. I am 6’ 3” and weigh 212 pounds so I can easily burn upwards of 600 calories an hour. This can make eating enough calories and drinking enough water a full time job. I found this out the hard way while training near my home in Sedona, AZ. Fortunately, there will be a tour bus supporting us that will carry the food and drink we will need so I do not have to carry a big backpack like I did while I was training.

Seeing the United States from ground level. Walking is a truly human paced activity. It allows you to connect with the area you are traveling through. You get to hear, feel, smell and in some cases taste the environment you are moving through. That is what makes walking such a great addition to any fitness program. No matter where you decide to walk you will get to know the area on a more intimate level.

I think there will be two things that will be equally challenging during this event. One will be the physical stress. It doesn’t really matter how much training you do and how great of shape you are in, after 20 mile of walking your joints are sore. The plus is that the more you do it and the better shape you get into, the quicker you recover.

The other challenge will be the mental side. I am a spiritual counselor and teach classes about working with energy, and I noticed during my training that I could easily get drawn into thinking negatively about how my body might feel like it was failing me when I would get fatigued or sore on a walk. Then it was suggested to me that I focus on the positive and how amazing my body is. So I look forward to the challenge of turning this into a form of walking meditation. I am sure this aspect of the walk will change me as much if not more than the physical challenges.

Created: 4/12/06