Love Walking in Philly? You Need to Join This Awesome New Facebook Group

Photo via Flickr

Facebook groups are all the rage it seems: First there was Run215, the Facebook community for Philly runners. Then there was iRunTheHill, the Facebook gathering spot for outdoor enthusiasts around Philly. And now? Meet Philadelphia Distance Walkers, the Facebook water cooler for anyone and everyone who likes to go for long walks around Philly.

Local walking lover J (pronounced Jay) Nathan Bazzel, who started the group, is hoping it will serve as a resource for people to share and learn about awesome new trails and walking routes, share safety tips, encourage each other, spread word of cool walking-related events and more. As he explains in a Facebook post on the group’s page,  “Philadelphia is one of the best cities in the United States for walkers; from urban walking, to wooded trails in Fairmount and Wissahickon, this is the group for sharing your favourite places to walk, get encouragement for increasing your distances, and find friends to walk with.”

Bazzel, who has two artificial hips and bad knees, started walking to lose weight and found that he really enjoys it. “Now, I walk more than 15 to 17 miles in a single walk and have done distances of more than 24 miles,” he tells us. But you don’t have to be up for walking 20 miles to be a part of the group. To wit: The group’s first event, slated to happen at 9 a.m. on June 20th, will be a measly (measly is relative term, of course) six-mile walk in Fairmount Park.

And if you don’t see yourself walking six miles either, no worries: As Bazzel explains, while a long walk might be 15 miles for one person, it might by two miles for someone else. All walkers are welcome, from the true distance folks to folks who are simply obsessed with getting their 10,000 steps in. You can join the Philadelphia Distance Walkers Facebook group here. Happy trails!

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