Blue Zones in Albert Lea

Thursday evening I drove down to Albert Lea to deliver Nordic Walking poles to Catherine’s first class.  Catherine has been nordic walking for 3 years and recently attended the Instructor Training. She is a mentor and model for anyone wanting to get started in nordic walking.  I love her enthusiasm and energy and it gets passed on to everyone who comes into contact with her.

 Catherine had 25 walkers in this class. The fascinating part of it is that they are also participating in a Blue Zone Vitality Project unique to Albert Lea.  www.cityofalbertlea.org  The goal of the project is to add 10,000 years to the lives of the people living in Albert Lea. Everyone there is so excited about the opportunities and programs being offered to them and the paths were full of people out walking and biking, the community gardens are growing fresh veges and there were folks just enjoying evening conversations and companionship time.  The program kicked off in April and goes thru October.  It’s something to keep a finger on to see how it all turns out.