By SARAH THOMACK
St. Joseph Post

A free walking program in St. Joseph kicks off this week with a few changes.

St. Joe Fit will begin the walking season at 5:30 pm on Thursday. Julie Noel with St. Joseph Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities said walkers will meet at the St. Joseph REC Center located at 2701 Southwest Parkway.

“It’s so much fun,” Noel said. “You meet new people… you really get a chance to walk along almost every single urban trail we have here in St. Joe and some trails people don’t even realize exist until they get to walk on it.”

Noel said this year they’re making a change to the schedule. The trail walks will run from April 11th until May 30th. During the summer, walkers are encouraged to utilize the free or reduced price fitness classes and wellness nutrition classes available for St. Joe Fit participants.

“Those who want to walk in the summer between June 5th and August 30th can walk for free on Thursdays at the REC Center anytime. The trail walks will start back up September the 5th and go through October the 17th,” Noel said. “The feedback that we received from a survey we provided to participants indicated that it’s really hot during the summer months and we were seeing a lot of numbers fall off so we thought maybe we’d try something different.”

The St. Joe Fit program also includes some options to the trail walks this year so people can choose a length that fits with their schedule or fitness level. There will be three options: a 1-1.5 mile walk, 2.5-4 miles or 4-5 mile walk.

Noel adds the recent flooding should not affect the trail walks scheduled this spring and they will adjust the locations, if needed.

For more information, contact Julie Noel at (816) 271-5516 or visit the St. Joe Fit Facebook page. To register online, click here.