By Emily Younker

eyounker@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — Norma Wilson is a walker.

The 80-year-old Joplin resident has walked in all 50 states, earning an award from the American Volkssport Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to physical fitness through non-competitive walking.

She also walks three miles each morning with a friend.

“We meet at 6:15 and walk before anything else interferes with the day,” she said.

Wilson was one of about 35 people walking around Neosho on Sunday with the Dogwood Trailblazers, a Volkssport Association club that sponsors year-round organized walks in Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas.

Participants on Sunday chose either a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) or 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) walk along Hickory Creek and through Neosho’s downtown area.

The club was organized in 1992 and has long encouraged what the city of Joplin is now emphasizing for its residents — exercise.

The Jasper and Newton Counties Community Health Collaborative and The Alliance of Southwest Missouri will begin encouraging residents to eat nutritious foods and exercise more frequently through the LiveSmart campaign, funded by a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health.

Ashley Micklethwaite, the grant and community benefit manager at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, previously told the Globe that LiveSmart encourages no- or low-cost exercise, such as walking.

City parks often offer good walking environments. Lighted trails in Joplin are open at Cunningham Park, Maiden Lane and 26th Street, and Leonard Park, Fifth Street and Turk Avenue, according to LiveSmart.

Indoor facilities such as Northpark Mall are also an option.

Non-competitive walks are frequently offered by the Trailblazers club. Cely Marshall, of Joplin, said she and her husband have been walking with Trailblazers for three years.

“We’re kind of new to Missouri, and it’s a good way to get to know the surrounding towns,” said Marshall, formerly of Buffalo, N.Y.

Marshall said her love of walking extends back to her childhood, when she used to visit her grandmother in Arkansas and walk with her through the Ozark Mountain scenery.

She said she doesn’t jog or swim, so walking is her primary — and preferred — form of exercise.

“It gets you outside,” she said. “I love an excuse to be outside. To me, there’s nothing more boring than walking on a treadmill.”

The LiveSmart campaign also asks parents to encourage their children to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day.

That’s not a problem for 9-year-old Rebecca Byers. She arrived at Sunday’s Trailblazers walk with her father, Chris, ready to tackle the 10-kilometer route.

“She is loving this,” Chris Byers said of his daughter.

The father-daughter duo planned to take advantage of the time to bond while walking more than six miles together, Byers said. They also wanted to make good on a New Year’s resolution to hike more.

“It’s amazing the number of hikes you can go on in this area,” said Byers, who has invested in a couple of books that highlight family-friendly hikes in Arkansas and Missouri.

Byers said he wanted to begin hiking partially for the enjoyment of being outside.

“It’s something fun to do with the family to keep us from sitting around, watching TV all weekend,” he said.

Byers also plans to stay healthy by hiking. He said he has lost weight over the past year and has started participating in 5-kilometer runs. He plans to tackle 10-kilometer runs this year.

“This is one of those prep things for me to get my head around how long a 10K is,” he said of Sunday’s walk.



On the Net

Go to livesmartswmo.org for maps and information on walking trails in Joplin, Carthage and Seneca.

Go to ava.org/clubs/Dogwood Trailblazers for information about the walking club.