For the Kent Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The ShoWare Center has been holding free indoor walks for about three years now, and the community has shown a very strong liking to it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
ShoWalk, which is offered every Monday and Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m., usually runs from November to March, but it was extended this year because of the last few rainy months. The final indoor walk of the season was May 29.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Pam Clark and Johnetta Rowsey, indoor walk coordinators, were front and center for the last walk of the season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“People need a place where it’s lit up and secure,” Clark said. “Sometimes people walk outside at a time where it’s still dark and that is unsafe. The ShoWare Center provides a safe, convenient and dry place for people to walk.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
There is no mall or indoor walking area in the city of Kent, so the ShoWalk makes walking or running indoors convenient for the community. In the center, there are two levels for walking, which includes stairs for those who enjoy cardio. There is seated area for stretching, warming up and cooling down. Complimentary pedometers are on hand if anyone wants to track their steps.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
All kinds of walkers show up to the ShoWalk. Moms come with their strollers and kids in tow. Many physical \u2013 and cognitive-therapy patients come to walk and exercise. Retired people and those in wheelchairs enjoy the ShoWalk as well and there is an elevator for those needing it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“This really is a great and healthy place for people to come and walk or run,” Rowsey said. “There is this person who comes to walk and this person was pre-diabetic and after walking and keeping a healthy lifestyle, that person is completely normal.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Along with having a safe and dry location for people to walk indoors, the ShoWalk also has blood pressure and glucose screening once a month, provided by Valley Medical and Dr. Rajeev Walia. These screenings can be very beneficial, many times catching health problems before they become serious.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Fay Tauscher, 76, has been coming to the ShoWalk ever since it started and she loves it. Tauscher lives in a senior community in downtown Kent. Her participation in the ShoWalk has led her to become an avid walker and volunteer now, helping out new walkers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“My legs bothered me and I have asthma, but the ShoWalk gives me a chance to get out so I bought a pair of Sketchers and started walking,” Tauscher said. “Living in a place like a senior community, you see so many of your friends come and go. You see your friends passing away so it can get depressing. The ShoWalk lets me get out and help out.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She has made many friends through the ShoWalks. Ask anyone at the ShoWalks, and they will tell you how sweet and popular Tauscher is.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Many organizations are dedicated to the ShoWalk’s success. Kent4Health and Veolia Transportation sponsor the event. Sam’s Club provides healthy snacks from time to time and Walmart also provides transportation periodically for walkers who do not have means to get to the ShoWalk.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For more information and schedules, please visit www.kent4health.com. The ShoWare Center is located at 625 W. James St.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Shamshir Kaur is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n =====<\/p>\n<\/p>\n PHOTO BELOW:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Richard and Linda Wilkinson embark on a walk inside the safe confines of the ShoWare Center. <\/span>Shamshir Kaur, For the Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/em><\/span><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The ShoWare Center has been holding free indoor walks for about three years now, and the community has shown a very strong liking to it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":5928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-5927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5927"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=5927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/raven.b-it.ca\/portals\/uploads\/kent\/.DIR288\/RichardandLindaWilkinsonwalking.jpg\")
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