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Toronto Sun article on the Festival
Walk your way to a better you
Fiore The Walker inspires others to hit the trails and reap the benefits
By MARILYN LINTON, TORONTO SUN
September 28, 2008
Tom Fiore's theme song could be Happy Trails to You, that old Roy Rogers/Dale Evans cowboy tune.
The Toronto public relations consultant has turned his love of trail walking into a free community wellness program which he founded and that introduces participants to the joys of walking the city's many trails.
Don't say you didn't know we had any.
Toronto is a city of parks and ravines filled with fabulous walking trails, glorious trees and well-marked paths. Every weekend through to the end of October, Fiore and his team will guide participants through the best of them during the sixth Toronto Trails Festival.
Now here's something different: The walks are free. Sure, there are countless charity walks this fall and all of them walking for worthy causes. But Fiore doesn't ask you to raise money for any cause. Nor does he put a number on your chest. He just wants you to walk "for the health of it."
Fiore's interest in walking goes back decades to when he visited his in-laws in England: "You would walk from village to hamlet to the sea, stop for lunch at a quaint old pub, then continue on your way," he says. "It was enthralling to discover the landscape at three km an hour as a walker."
When he returned home to Toronto, he decided to take a hike every morning to see what he could find. Sure, there were no 300 year-old pubs, but over the years Fiore discovered that there were wonderful places to walk to in and around the city. Every morning (rain, shine or snow), he sets out for his stroll -- three km, five km, ten km or more: "My morning walk is my set-up for the day," he told me. "You commune with nature and the rest of the day is like a bonus."
Over time Fiore The Walker noticed there were also physical benefits. His annual check-ups were A-okay: Blood pressure, normal; weight, normal; lung capacity, good; cholesterol, normal. "I began to think if it's good for me it's got to be good for others my age. The important thing is to stay active. Walking regularly is no different from any other routine -- like having your morning coffee."
Now aged 60, Fiore is into his sixth year of these organized trail walks. Mayor David Miller is impressed. He joined Fiore way back on the first walk and the experience prompted him to keep walking (he told Fiore he subsequently lost 30 lbs.) This year Miller has proclaimed October as Toronto Trails Festival month.
The Ontario Medical Association is suitably impressed as well and has applauded Fiore's walking projects (he also organizes spring walks throughout the province) for their promotion of good health. After all, walking increases cardiovascular health, balance and agility - it's all about prevention.
"Something special happens when people take responsibility for their wellness through walking," Fiore believes. "They care more about their environment, about preserving and enjoying nature. They adopt better health habits, including more exercise and better nutrition. They simply become more active, fit, aware, productive, healthy and involved."
All this from putting one step ahead of the other?
You'd be surprised what else simply walking can do for you, Fiore adds: "Walking teaches you to be sure-footed. It helps you to stay focused. After all, you've got to know where you're stepping. It's almost like a life philosophy!"
He's not kidding about the environmental stuff, either. He believes that programs such as the Toronto Trails Festival encourage environmental awareness (Fiore even has a favourite tree in the Cedarvale ravine which he's nicknamed Boris.)
Fiore's walks are many and varied and you can choose your favourite by registering online at torontotrailsfestival.ca. You may be too late for today's walk at the Humber Arboretum, but you can still register for any or all of three more Toronto walks: The Oct. 5th walk is the Leslie Street Spit, the Oct. 12th walk is the Eastern Beaches, and the Oct. 19th is the Rouge River Valley hike (a little more rugged than the others.)
In addition to these, there are yoga-type walks led by yoga instructor Leonor Mowry, rhythm walks led by Nia instructor Marla Gold and a challenging Xtreme walk end of October for which training is required. "One step at a time -- it's the best life insurance policy I know," says Fiore. "If you don't have your health, you don't have anything."
