Volksmarching...A Fun and Inexpensive Hobby

I've probably posted here before about one of my favorite hobbies but it has been so long I figured I would post about it again.  I love to walk.  Short walks, long walks, winter walks, summer walks...all are fun.  Anyway, today I headed out for another volksmarch (I'm trying to finish 100 volksmarches by the end of the year to win an award).  It was a great day for walking and there were so many people out in the early AM walking this morning!  If you haven't heard of it, volksmarching in a German-inspired walking club in the US and in many other parts of the world.  The annual cost to join a local club is around $15 and you pay $3 for each walk which supports the club and pays for small awards like patches and pins.  You earn awards for both the number of events you walk as well as achieving walking distances (I met one guy who has walked more than 50,000 km over the years and he is still going!).

As hobbies go, this is a pretty good one as it is both inexpensive and good for your health (each walk is a 5k or 10k with some as long as 42k).  The only thing you really need is a good pair of shoes but of course people who really get into walking can make it a much more expensive hobby by traveling to various walking events.  One couple I met walks more than 300 volksmarches a year, driving around the country to do this; they spend about 270 days on the road each year to hit A LOT of volksmarches.  A related walking club hosts a dozen walking weekend events all over the world which can get spendy if you are hopping from country to country each month to walk in these events.

Most cities and towns in the US have volksmarch events (either group walks or boxes where you can sign up and walk on your own).  My city has ten organized walks as well as a couple of special events each year.  The people who put these walks together really do a great job highlighting the best things to see in the area along your walk (some of our local walks go through the casinos along the Las Vegas Strip, other go out to Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam).

So if you are looking for a fun, enjoyable, and no so expensive hobby, check out volksmarching.  The US Club can be found here, the Canadian Club here, and an international club here.