Arlington (and International) Walker and Founder of the U.S. FreedomWalk Tim Miner
From the look of things, international airline pilot and international walker Tim Miner has logged almost as many miles on foot as in the air. Next weekend (October 19-21), he'll add to the miles on foot column when he and an estimated 1,000 fellow walkers from around the world hit the trail as part of Arlington's international, non-competitive walking weekend, the U.S. FreedomWalk Festival®, which he founded in 2002.
Tim grew up in Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland, and now resides in Prince William County, Virginia with his wife Celia. Their daughter attends American University. Tim spent 30 years in the Air Force and its Reserve and has worked as a pilot with American Airlines for the last 18 years.
Despite a work schedule that allows him to spend only about half of his time at home in Virginia, Tim manages to maintain a regular walking routine. At home, he walks six mile-trails administered by the American Volkssports Association (AVA). The AVA is the nation's largest walking association and, with thousands of trails available, the program gives Tim places to walk even when he is away from home. So far, he has logged more than 7,000 kilometers in the program!
Tim began walking regularly while dating Celia, who had taken up volksmarching because running hurt her knees. Tim recalls that he, "had to meet her on the walking trail if I was going to court her!" True to form, when the Miners married, they incorporated a volksmarch into their reception! Their daughter is also an avid international walker.
To this day, Tim considers walking to be the number one form of exercise because it allows him time with both his wife and daughter. With walking providing a means to stay physically fit, Tim sees no need to participate in competitive sports and anticipates "walking for as long as [he] lives."
Never one to walk alone, Tim, a former professor of geography at the U.S. Air Force Academy, has turned walking into a means by which to meet people and learn about cultures around the world. He and his wife participate in a unique walking organization of many of the world's best walks called the International Marching League (IML).
The IML promotes fitness through walking and international friendship with the motto, "May walking bring us together." The Miners' honeymoon brought them to IML events in Korea and Japan. To date, they have logged walks on five continents and were awarded the organization's International Walking Medal (in gold with laurels) for over 30 international events.
The FreedomWalk Festival®
A few years ago, Tim and Celia decided that they wanted to create a world-class walking event in the nation's capital to thank the walkers around the world who had hosted them over the years. The event would be "a unique walking experience that emphasizes walking for physical fitness and friendship, while teaching American history and culture to walkers of all ages."
The couple came up with the name of the U.S. FreedomWalk Festival® to highlight the "freedom that comes from a healthy walking life, the freedoms we enjoy within the United States from those throughout our history who helped to create them, and the freedom that comes from friendship."
As a member of the Air Force Reserves, Tim was able to get the Reserve Officers Association of the U.S. (ROA) to host the first U.S. FreedomWalk in 2002. In 2003, the Office of the Surgeon General of the U.S. signed on as a partner, enabling the walk to offer the Surgeon General's FreedomWalk Medal as a reward to participants.
The very first walk, based in Washington, D.C., was national and international in scope, with walkers from 15 states and from Germany. After three successful years during which the number of walkers nearly doubled from 300-600, the US FreedomWalk came to Arlington in 2005. Hoping that a walker-friendly community like Arlington County would provide the perfect home for the event, Tim was thrilled at the support and appreciation he received from then-Chairman of the Arlington County Board Jay Fisette, and from WALKArlington. The first year in Arlington was also the "judgement year" for the Walk to be accepted into the IML, and it passed the test.
Since then, the event has grown to more than 1,000 walkers, many of whom fly in from across the nation and around the world. Since 2003, the FreedomWalk Festival has celebrated the international walking community by designating an embassy as a guest checkpoint. Participating embassies have included Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Japan. In 2007, South Korea will host the checkpoint, allowing walkers to claim that they walked "from Arlington, USA, to Korea and back in a day!"
This year's U.S. FreedomWalk Festival will begin at noon on Friday, October 19 with an Arlington Welcome Walk, which will feature a "grand loop of Arlington," including the Custis Trail, Clarendon, Courthouse and the Chancery of Korea. The award patch for Friday's 3- and 6-mile trails contains the FitArlington logo, in honor of the County's commitment to "a culture of fitness."
On Saturday, October 20, the official opening ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. in Gateway Park. Arlington County Board Chairman Paul Ferguson will be on hand to greet the walkers, along with the just-retired Acting Surgeon General of the United States RADM Kenneth Moritsugu, who will serve as Grand Marshal. There will be walkers from Belgium, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and many other countries, as well as a youth group from overseas that will join the many families and youth groups already participating in the event. Saturday's trails are 3, 6, 12, and 27 miles long. Most will travel through embassy neighborhoods and around the National Mall.
On Saturday evening, there will be an international friendship dinner. Some youth groups will also participate in ceremonies around the monuments and memorials, including a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Sunday offers different trails with lengths of 3, 6, 12, and 18 miles. Most trails travel to Arlington's northern parks and return via the C&O Canal and the Mount Vernon Trail. At 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, the Festival comes to a close with an awards ceremony in the host hotel, Holiday Inn at Key Bridge in Rosslyn. Officials from the hosting organizations will be there to honor walkers and teams who covered the longer distances and international walkers who have earned IML awards as well as to celebrate the "culture of Arlington fitness" and the friendships made by walkers on and off the trail. Vice Chair of the County Board J. Walter Tejada will be there to send the walkers home filled with the best wishes from Arlington.
How to Participate
Walkers choose the days and distances that challenge them and walk at their own pace. Registration is available at the door for all trails. The starting point and pre-registration for all walks is the Holiday Inn at Key Bridge in Rosslyn. Check the FreedomWalk website for the times and distances available for each day. The small fee pays for walkers' rewards of the Surgeon General's FreedomWalk medal, certificates, and patches. Along with credit stamps for volksmarchers and IML walkers, the international walkers will leave with a medal bar bearing the words "Arlington, USA" to wear on their International Walking Medal.
Arlington's Role
2007 will mark Arlington's third year as host of the U.S. FreedomWalk Festival. Tim believes that the culture of walking in Arlington; the County's emphasis on trails, walkable paths and alternative forms of transportation; and its support of programs like FitArlington and WALKArlington make it the perfect setting for the FreedomWalk. Tim has petitioned Planet Arlington organizers to include this international sporting event in its 2008 schedule. He adds that Arlington is becoming "home to some significant walking events that are putting Arlington on the map!" And he would know.
Another walking-related fact that only Tim would know is just how many walkers and walking organizations in and around Arlington are needed to make the U.S. FreedomWalk happen. In his words, "the only reason this walk is possible is because of all the walkers and walking organizations who volunteer their time. We owe them a huge debt of thanks!"
It's clear that Tim and Celia have earned their share of thanks as well! And when this year's U.S. FreedomWalk Festival is over, the Miners have another reason to stick around Arlington. Now that their daughter has left home for college, they've decided that their Prince William County home has become "too big." They'll be looking around Arlington for a new home -- near a trail -- as their next place to settle down (between walks, of course)!
