Upcoming Walk to Live Workshops

Fitness guru Suzanne Nottingham’s fall and winter schedule now available

Among Suzanne Nottingham’s Nordic Walk Now programs is her Walk to Live Workshop to help people become fit, stay fit and age gracefully. Nottingham, one of the country’s leading fitness theorists and trainers (and an increasingly enthusiastic supporter of Nordic Walking), has developed this interesting and inspirational three-hour program for people who enjoy fitness walking in their communities with friends and family and want to become more knowledgeable about Nordic Walking poles and techniques — and if they choose to, spread the word in their communities by becoming Nordic Walking leaders. She calls it “fitness and empowerment.”

The workshop helps people learn how hard to go–or not to go–to accomplish their health and fitness goals with the use of poles. Additionally, participants can buy various pole products at a discount at training sites. The cost is $99 with advance registration of 30 days or more; then $119. Nordic Walk Now’s instructor training is held in tandem with Walk to Live Workshops. The cost is $129 in advance, then $149. Nordic Walk Now, P.O. Box 710, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546; 760-912-4471.

Walk to Live Workshop and Instructor Training Dates and Locations

2009
Saturday September 12 – Greenfield, Wisconsin
Saturday September 19 – Olympia, Washington
Saturday October 3 – Mammoth Lakes, California
Saturday October 31 – Stowe, Vermont

2010
Saturday February 20 – Gadsden, Alabama
Saturday April 10 – Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, April 17 – Big Island, Hawaii

I’m especially thrilled to see a training workshop scheduled for Alabama and only wish it were sooner than next year. When we read obesity and related health-problem statistics, the Deep South always comes out as the unfortunate leader. Nordic Walking is so effective and achievable for those who have been sedentary that introducing it to this part of the country is important. One workshop won’t turn the the South around, but it’s a great start.

Meanwhile, in the upper Midwest, where Nordic Walking is impressively accepted, Nottingham has invited Exterstrider‘s Tom Rutlin and Ed Urbanski, a Nordic Walk Now instructor, will be on hand too. Nottingham and Rutlin both attended the recent Nordic Walking North America Expo in Santa Monica, organized to forge increased cooperation among Nordic Walking trainers and organizations. Nottingham’s invitation to Rutlin and Urbanski is an example of that cooperation.

One of NWNA’s goals is a searchable directory of Nordic Walking instructors trained by various organizations. Nordic Walk Now has a head start on this process, and you can already search for Nordic Walking instructors on the site.