Walkie-talkies everywhere

If Susan Peoples and Margie Blank just wanted to socialize, they could catch up all they want at the Friday night Scrabble potluck at their North Raleigh condo complex. But both are avid walkers, and three years ago they saw an opportunity to marry hoofing and hobnobbing.

"We talk, we cut up, we laugh," says Peoples, who is 65 and started walking laps at Shelley Lake with co-workers 20 years ago.

"It's very good for your health," says Blank, 78. "You have to walk!"

Their walk-'n'-talk arrangement isn't new, but it's becoming increasingly popular, based on a scan of local parks and recreation fall program guides. Peoples and Blank, for instance, were participating two weeks ago in Raleigh Parks and Recreation's Capital City Striders program, a "self-directed" walk Friday mornings at the Laurel Hills Community Center for walkers 55 and older.

If the weather's nice, they walk the center's paved nature trail. If it's not, they walk laps in the gym.

Such group gym walks are becoming especially popular. Offered at numerous community centers in the Triangle, the walks generally are informal and held first thing in the morning, before programs get under way.

Woody Harvey, director of Fuquay-Varina's Parks and Recreation Department, says people still prefer to walk the one-third-mile outdoor track at the town's Community Center.

"But if it gets real hot, they like the air conditioning," Harvey says. "We'll get five or 10 people on a hot morning."

The city of Raleigh offered some of the first walking programs in the area, typically informal weekly affairs held at local parks. The city still has those -- the aforementioned Capital City Striders, Walking for a Good Reason at Lions Park and Weekly Walkers, at various locations around town.

But Raleigh also has capitalized on growing awareness of walking as one of the best ways for the non-athletically inclined to stay fit.

(Quick stats: 88.9 million Americans walk for exercise, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, making it the most popular form of exercise; walking decreases the risk of heart attack, helps in weight management, boosts so-called "good" cholesterol, controls blood pressure and reduces risk of breast cancer and type 2 diabetes, among other benefits.)

Last year, Raleigh launched a more aggressive, focused walking program, the Senior/Adult 10-Week Walking Program offered in conjunction with AARP, Rex Health Care and the National Recreation and Park Association.

"The goal," says Carmen Rayfield with Raleigh Parks & Rec, "was to get people to incorporate walking into their daily routine."

Each person in the program set a personal goal -- lose weight, lower blood pressure, feel less stressed -- but overall, the goal was to get people walking for 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

The group dynamic -- participants met in groups ranging from a handful to nearly 60 in Garner -- helped keep people with the program.

"If someone didn't show up for a walk," says Rayfield, "the walk leader would give them a follow-up call to see how they were doing."

Did folks cotton to the more structured approach?

"We were expecting 300, maybe 350 to sign up," Rayfield said. "We had over 600 register."

The abundance of walking programs throughout the Triangle makes them convenient. And the lack of special equipment makes it a cheap way to stay fit.

"I have walking shoes," Margie Blank said, stopping briefly to draw attention to her feet, "but these are cheaper and more comfortable. The walking shoes are in the closet."