New York, New York

COEUR d’ALENE — Robert Hackney is 94 years old and he is walking to New York.

Think he can't do it? Think again.

He’s almost there, just a few hundred miles to go.

And he’s doing it without leaving Coeur d’Alene.

“I’m an early riser,” he said.

The resident of Bestland Senior Living Community in Coeur d’Alene often starts his day with a walk. Mid-day, he usually goes again. And come evening, he takes even more steps.

It’s all part of his commitment to staying sharp, physically and mentally, but also part of his goal to cover the 2,575 miles from his home to the city of New York.

“I got 3.69 miles for the day right now so far,” he said on a weekday morning as he sat in his cozy living room. “So Lord willing, I’ll be there between the 15th and the 30th of November.”

Hackney mostly walks the hallways, relaxed and steady, usually about 30 minutes or so.

He focuses on what’s ahead as he passes fellow residents, decorations, pictures and religious symbols. He ventures upstairs, too, traveling a familiar one-mile loop, and has become known as "that walking guy."

He chuckles at that moniker because he doesn’t care for the spotlight. Doesn't want it to be about him and what he's done. In fact, when The Press called about an interview, he was reluctant to agree with it due to his Christian faith. "Are you a Christ follower? he asked.

In a way, it’s just something to do when he’s not reading, looking after his cat or chatting with neighbors. It keeps him from being bored, watching too much TV and thinking too much about the way of the world.

“If I get tired of sitting here, I’ll go out and walk,” he said.

Like the movie character Forrest Gump, who when asked why he was running, what was his motivation, said, “I just felt like running,” it’s much the same for Hackney.

“I just like walking,” he said. “I’m just chugging along.”

As he does, he whistles, like his father, or sings, softly.

“I’ll sing it to myself more or less,” he said.

What’s even more remarkable about his achievement is that he has vertigo, so he must do his best to avoid looking down or up, or he could fall. He focuses on looking straight ahead, which isn't as easy as it sounds when people keep stopping him to chat.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m walking in a helicopter, like a drunk," Hackney said, chuckling.

But like a military man, he stays on task.

He started out Sept. 19, 2019, but lost two weeks to quarantine when he came in contact with someone who had COVID-19. He has about 260 miles to go.

So, why New York?

The answer might not be what one would expect when someone walks nearly 3,000 miles to get to a specific place.

“Just because it was a place to go, he said, then added, “I hate New York. I hate the whole East Coast.”

But he loves walking to get there.

As a mail carrier for 22 years, he hoofed his way through thousands of miles in rain, wind, sleet, snow and sun.

As someone who served in the Navy for 20 years, he knows discipline and put his life on the line for his country.

As a husband for 72 years, he understands commitment and what it takes to keep the love alive.

All are strengths in his quest.

“The Lord just keeps blessing so I just keep going,” he said.

Despite being more than nine decades old, Hackney is surprisingly spry.

He overcame torn muscles in his shoulder last year, and is still nursing a pulled hamstring when he tried running to Bestland's front door to help a friend who got locked out.

“When you’re 94, you don’t run,” he said, laughing.

When pain strikes, Hackney takes Advil, rests and pushes through. The miles pass and pile up.

“Believe me, I’ve got a couple aches and pains here and there,” he said.

Hackney overcame a challenging childhood. His parents split up when he was young and he ran away from home to find his mom. He dropped out of school in 10th grade and joined the military when he was 17 years old.

He was just 18 when he served in War World II and was involved in the Battle of Okinawa. He was part of a crew that fired barrages of rockets from the ship.

He wasn’t scared, he stood his ground, and was proud to his part for his country.

“We did what we were supposed to do, we fired those rockets,” Hackney said.

He left the military in 1964, then worked for the U.S. Postal Service for just over two decades.

Hackney has called Bestland home for about two and a half years. He rises about 3 to 4 a.m., has a cup of coffee, reads his Bible, and prays while his cat roams the room.

And then, he laces up his favorite boots or shoes, and walks.

Most days, according to his Fitbit, he’s around 16,000 to 20,000 steps, good for anyone of any age.

“I’ve got 7,800 steps today so far,” he said.

Asked if he wore shorts on those hot, summer days, Hackney laughs.

“I ain’t bearing these ugly legs to nobody,” he said.

Hackney is a man satisfied with a life well lived. He misses his wife of 72 years, Martha, who died last year, but knows she is in a better place.

“I’m glad she’s up with her daddy, healthy and eating and walking and meeting friends and their families. I’ll be up there with her one of these days,” Hackney said. “I’m ready to go when the Lord calls me.”

Meanwhile, he notes that while he is the oldest man at Bestland, but he can keep pace with the younger crowd.

Hackney laughs as he explains that the owner of Bestland offered to donate a dollar to fight cancer for every mile walked by residents there.

“I’m tickled pink. I’m socking it to him this month,” he said proudly. “I’ll beat him out of $300 or $400 because it’s over with.”


But his journey isn't over.

He records his daily mileage on his computer on his desk and a map on the wall. A straight black line goes from Idaho to New York. Hackney's progress is the red line and it’s almost even with the black line.

Not much farther.

“So there I am,” he said, pointing to the end of the thin, red line.

The Big Apple. New York, New York. If Hackney can make it there, he'll make it anywhere. He'll be king of the hill.

He just won't admit it.

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