Jodi Rave: Native women take up walking challenge

"It's easy to talk about being physically fit and much easier to think about it, which is why I'm not entering a triathlon tomorrow. But when I was offered a heart-palpitating challenge, I accepted it.

I've joined 16 others who have agreed to be part of a walking team. Our mission: a journey that will take us from Alaska down the Pacific Coast and over to Hawaii.

No, I'm not quitting my day job.

“Are we going to walk across the water?” asked Carol Manuelito, a spry 75-year-old Navajo elder and the oldest member of the Sister Girls walking group.

Actually, the Navajo grandmother has been through this before.

For the second year, the Sister Girls are participating in a “virtual walking tour,” which began on Mother's Day. That means our group will log a daily number of steps on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site as part of a national eight-week walking event.

On Sunday, the Sister Girls departed from St. Michael, Alaska, all of us determined as a team to complete the WOMAN Challenge (Women and Girls Out Moving Across the Nation).

The challenge kicks off National Women's Health Week and encourages walkers to join as individuals or as a team. More than 41,000 participants - including 2,427 teams - were registered as of Tuesday."

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: WOMAN Challenge draws 41,000 (The Missoulian 5/16)

Relevant Links:
Jodi Rave - http://www.missoulian.com/jodirave

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