Some Crazy Walking History
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What is the 30‑Day Walking Challenge and why is today’s walk special?
Be prepared to be blown away by some walking history that I'm pretty certain you had no idea existed. Hi, I'm Dave. Welcome to Walking is Fitness, a daily 10-minute podcast designed to provide you with a little added encouragement, motivation even to get out and take the walk. Today's 10-minute walk starts right after this. I am on my back porch with a box I just got from Topo Athletic. These contain my new shoes. The ST6, these are minimal shoes. Wide toe box, all the Topo Athletic shoes come with a wide toe box. My shoes have a zero drop. This is part of a journey I've been on to make my feet stronger, to move towards a more minimal shoe. With Topo Athletic, they've got shoes for every need, minimal shoes, maximal cushion.
They've got road shoes, trail shoes. Recovery shoes, race shoes. Alright, let's open the box. And there's a box inside the box. And these are nice looking. And very light. Very light. Let's pull the inserts out, try them on. Boy, I can feel the difference the wide toe box makes instantly. By the way, Topo Athletic, brand new sponsor of Walking Is Fitness. You can check them out. Again, Topoathletic.com. You can do your shopping online. You can also see where you can pick up Topo shoes at a retailer near you. All right, leaving the back porch. Walking in and yeah, this wide toe box makes a huge difference. So I'm gonna be wearing these and I'll give you an update shortly. In the meantime, check them out, Topo Athletic, T-O-P-O, Topoathletic.com.
The days are longer, the calendar is filling up, and I want to feel as good as this beautiful summer weather.
Why does Dave recommend Topo Athletic’s ST6 minimal shoes for stronger feet?
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Welcome to day twenty-four of the thirty-day walking challenge again today in Colonial Williamsburg. And I thought, because I'm in a restored, recreated eighteenth century city, Williamsburg was actually the capital of Virginia for most of the eighteenth century. This before it was a state, it was a colony. And I thought it would be fun since I'm here in Williamsburg to talk about what walking was like in the eighteenth century. Did a little bit of research. Most of the stuff that I found was not surprising, and I'll talk about that in a moment. But then At the back end of that research was a little rabbit hole, and I went down that rabbit hole and learned some things that I did not know about the history of walking, blew me away, and I think it's going to blow you away too.
These are really fun historical facts about walking. But first off, 18th century walking, most people For most people this was primarily how they got around. While much of Colonial Williamsburg can give you a a hint, a taste of what life in the eighteenth century was like, there's obviously a lot of things that are dramatically different. For example, I'm walking, actually walking on a brick sidewalk, and I have no idea if this was common, probably not. Most of the walking surfaces were dirt. There's a asphalt paved road, the Duke of Gloucester Street, which I have been mispronouncing for decades. Kept calling it the Duke of Gloucester. And then someone gently reminded me, No no King's English, Duke of Gloucester.
Which, by the way, Maddie, a listener in Belgium, hi Maddie, sent me an email about Sunday's episode. I keep talking about this research out of the University of Leicester about walking speed and biological age. And Maddie said, in the UK it's actually University of Leicester. Like, oh, got that one wrong. Sorry about that. So I'm walking along the Duke of Gloucester. And it's paved. Of course it wasn't paved in the 18th century. The buildings have air conditioning, which of course they did not have in the 18th century.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the 30‑Day Walking Challenge and why is today’s walk special?
0:03–1:48
2
Why does Dave recommend Topo Athletic’s ST6 minimal shoes for stronger feet?
1:48–6:35
3
How did walking serve as everyday transportation in 18th‑century Williamsburg?
6:35–8:52
4
What were the typical walking surfaces, clothing, and footwear in colonial America?
8:52–10:44
5
Who were the first celebrity pedestrians and what feats made them famous?
10:44–12:06