Go take a walk

COEUR d'ALENE - Go on, stretch your legs.

Everybody knows by now that walking is good for you. By good, study upon study says walking 15 to 20 minutes a day helps lower cholesterol, fight heart disease, drop weight, reduce stress and increases health overall.

But did you know that Wednesday was the American Heart Association's National Walking Day?

It's true.

"We didn't know it was the national day, but we try and walk daily," said Ray Wiedmer, strolling downtown Coeur d'Alene with wife Linda Garberg.

While it might not be the most widely known day, it does kick off National Stress Awareness Month, which is April. Walking can reduce tension and anxiety, making the day and the month a perfect fit.

So many health benefits without the cost of a gym, why wouldn't you walk?

"Outside activity is always the best, you get the fresh air and you meet people," Garberg said, who clocks two or three miles a day. "I feel better for every step I take."

Not everyone is a walker, of course - even if a day is devoted to it.

Pat Bird and Ernie Israelson, visiting from Alberta, Canada, don't stroll much unless they're on vacation, which they were Wednesday. Their stroll was interrupted by a trip to the museum and sitting on a City Park bench, watching others "purposely walk."

"She looked great," Bird said of the serious walker who cruised past the couple. "We were soaking up the sun."