I'm Shirley Min and on this episode of You Oughta Know, we're making moves in more ways than one.

It's just a way to burn some extra calories.

WHYY coworkers are getting their steps in and building connections along the way.

We run through the streets of North Wales.

The people come out and sit on the lawn and cheer you on.

Runners hit the Wissahickon trails, raising support for the environment and the community.

It's for any age.

It's for any level.

From fitness to fun, see what's getting people moving at this popular Philly rooftop.

Your body can do a lot more than your mind thinks it can.

Plus, meet the nurse pushing her own limits and inspiring her patients to do the same.

Welcome to You Oughta Know.

Today's show is all about movement.

We're here at Glasgow Park in Delaware where there's more than three miles of trails to explore.

Walking is the easiest way to improve your health and meet new friends.

Hi there.

Hi.

Nice to meet you.

It's nice to meet you too.

I'm going to catch up with you a little bit later.

Okay.

But first I want to introduce you to a Wilmington walking group that's creating a different kind of movement.

One that's bringing neighbors together and turning strangers into friends.

For those of you that are new to Coastal Alchemy and our walks we have a ritual that we do where we touch the bridge for good luck.

Not too long ago the people walking in this group were strangers until Coastal Alchemy brought them together.

Coastal alchemy is a community rooted movement.

The goal is to bring people together through human connection and getting people out and moving in the community is one of the ways in which we do that.

Lindsay you have walked year-round even in the winter.

Even in the winter.

Why is that important to you?

Well for me getting outside in the winter when we are used to isolating and being outside inside in the colder months it's really really important to even bundle up and get outside for a little bit and bringing people together in any weather to do that is really important.

I know I needed it.

Along with the Walk and Talks, Coastal Alchemy hosts a variety of gatherings like coffee crawls, crafting and yoga workshops and co-working meetups.

We tap into a variety of different opportunities for people to come together and connect.

So it allows people to either find something that they might be interested in and an opportunity to create that connection.

I moved here not knowing anybody.

And so I really was challenging myself to try and make friends outside of work, which can be really hard in your 30s.

And so this gave me a comfortable space.

I live in the neighborhood.

So the first one I just came in.

Lindsay was so welcoming.

Met a couple of people and then we've been coming every other week since.

With the walk and talks and other Coastal Alchemy events you're doing something while you're talking and so I think having that kind of buffer of like oh we're doing this thing together makes it a little less nerve wracking.

We've made so many friends from all walks of life and we've been able to kind of disengage you know from being online and reconnect with individuals on more of like a personal level which I think is hugely important these days.

Lindsay started Coastal Alchemy three years ago after leaving her high stress corporate job.

The pandemic forced her to re-evaluate how and where she spends her time and who she wants to spend it with.

What I realize is so many people need places to gather and so I work with local businesses to create pop up experiences to bring that community together.

Businesses like Scout Cafe where the group starts and ends their walks.

We start by gathering for coffee and we have about 30 minutes to mix, mingle, make introductions for anyone who is new and what's really fun about days like this is that it's a casual way to bring people together.

I am blown away.

The first event we had, I think two people showed up.

And since then, we've seen upwards to 70 people show up for an event.

Alchemy itself is taking something and transforming it into something new.

Coastal is also a play on my name.

So my last name is Beach.

And really, the coast is incredibly resilient.

And if there's things that we can look to or point to, it's nature to remind us how adaptable we all can be.

When you spend most of your day at a desk, getting outside can take some extra effort.

But where there's a will, there's a way.

All right, let's go to Jersey.

Why we walk.

We walk for health.

Why we walk.

We walk for fitness.

Why we walk?

We walk for fun.

Check, check, check.

Can you hear?

Check, check, check.

[laughter] You guys are funny.

A lot of us spend a lot of time sitting all day long at our desks.

We're typically hunched over in one position staring at a screen.

It's not good for circulation.

It makes your muscles stiff.

So getting out to walk is a wonderful thing you can do to break up your day.

When you go for a walk, even not a very fast walk, it gets your heart going.

It's good for circulation.

It's just a way to burn some extra calories perhaps.

Beyond that there are mental health benefits where you feel better, you get outside, you get some fresh air, you get some sunshine and it's good for your attention span.

When we're staring at a screen for prolonged periods of time it becomes very difficult to keep our attention focused.

When you go outside you let your gaze wander.

That allows our brain to have a bit of a rest.

So, when you get back to your desk, you will notice that you can actually focus better.

And that problem that may have been vexing you, you'll probably figure it out.

We are at 1222, so we'll do a little loop.

So we're in good shape, right?

I learned over the short time that I've been here that's helping employee resiliency.

I mean, I've introduced this walking group.

We're trying to get out twice a week and just get people away from their desks, get some energy flowing, get some endorphins going.

We're getting to know each other really well, but we're walking, we're burning calories.

Ultimately it's good for business.

But we're burning calories today, so keep it moving.

Being a group like the one we have at WHYY sets a time to go for a walk, so you commit to it, you say, "Yes, I'm coming along."

Then you've made that commitment, that makes it so much more likely that you will actually be out there for your walk.

You're going to meet up with some friends, you'll have a nice chat, that makes it more appealing.

So, what Gary Catts is doing at WHYY, that is actually a great way to get people motivated to actually get out there and go walking.

Philadelphia has a lot of really cool things to see and do.

We're in a great location right here in the Independence Mall area.

We've done the bridge back and forth.

It's about a two and a half to three mile loop depending on how far you go.

We went down to the piers, down to the waterfront.

We're doing Old City quite a bit.

Today we stopped at the Franklin Fountain and then we each grabbed some ice cream.

My treat.

I love what I do, but it can be very sedentary sometimes.

So having a half hour to 45 minutes in the afternoon to just walk and get the steps in is a beautiful opportunity.

And to bond with my coworkers here.

It was fun.

Yay!

Yay!

Yay!

The benefits of getting away from your desk, most importantly meeting people, camaraderie, all that is good for WHYY.

We have full support of our executive leadership team to get people away from their desks, spend some time, get to know one another.

The benefits will pay off, pay dividends down the road.

So that's why we walk.

I found my people in my community.

Coming up, this story and more.

What's great about Glasgow Park are the interactive activities you find all around.

A must do here is to tackle the hill.

You're building muscle and strength with every movement.

And when you reach the top, the view is worth the work.

Thanks for being my walking buddy.

Newcastle County's Mike Clendaniel.

We tackled Bear Mountain.

A little challenging, but I would say it was worth it.

The views here are incredible.

They are and the park itself has been around since 2011.

15 years time there been a ton of improvements.

Can you tell us about what the newest addition to the park is?

Yes, love to.

I mean here with Bear Mountain, couple things we just touched with getting your cardiovascular as you walk up it working through those elements.

It also does a little bit for any child that wants to do as far as learning you know balance and all those kind of elements that we just came up and kind of walked through and learned.

Excitingly our new improvements here our FY 26 budget was approved and allowed us to rebuild actually a new playground.

Oh nice.

We're looking probably within middle of July to end of July it will be fully open for the public to enjoy.

It was a great investment that we were able to put back in.

It's inclusivity that it brings it will allow kids to and adults of all ages to actually utilize it from anything from a challenge course to ropes for climbing and everything else along with ramp structures and everything else to allow anyone with disabilities to be able to get up and utilize most of the equipment within.

It was really thought out between the actual playground designer that did it and then also we worked with Autism Delaware to kind of work through some of those elements so that was really cool.

Oh I love that.

And pickleball too which is just all over the place but you added pickleball courts here?

Yeah about four years ago there was a big push under our last administration and hearing from the public and pushing for pickleball courts as far as it's sweeping and how it swept through the nation.

The Highness kind of took over here and we were able to plan it in-house design it in-house and also build it in-house so that was something that really helped us from a fiscal standpoint also be able to provide that element to the public which you know you ride through pretty much any day you'll see somebody on it and the utilization of it has been phenomenal and really proves the benefit that we brought to the park.

And I love how the community had a say and then you followed up on that ask.

That's really cool.

So in addition to the playground and the pickleball courts, this is really just like a family friendly park.

We have the trail, the fountain, lots to kind of enjoy here.

Yes, it's not just from a standpoint of a playground and a mountain to climb.

We have basketball courts, tennis courts, which we actually just resurfaced and redid.

They were of an element of where they were kind of had some drainage issues, cracking for safety issues.

And we just refinished those actually within the last month.

So they're now back and they're utilized by many people.

So it's great to bring that back.

We also have a skate park, which is really heavily utilized.

Multiple pavilions, which people can rent, utilize for parties, corporate gatherings or any of those events.

I don't know if we can see behind us, but we also have a pond.

It actually allows fishing and just enjoyment.

It allows fishing?

It does.

So I'll let my son know.

So we do have that element.

The pathway around here, the paved pathways, the circular path is 2.6 miles.

And then we have a multitude of other paved sections that equal more and then multiple natural trails that actually go out through the woods that you can utilize.

- That's incredible.

There's lots to do here, Mike.

Thanks so much for tackling Bear Mountain with me.

- No problem, thank you.

- And later on, I'm gonna go tackle another activity.

Let's head to Philly for some high-stepping and vinyasa flow at a venue known for its panoramic views.

- There's nothing like doing a sun salutation where you like look at this unbelievable sunset over this awesome city.

It's for any age.

It's for any level.

And there's no partner required.

It really is a place where friends, families, neighbors, community gather.

Somehow even though you come by yourself, you're dancing with everyone.

When Bok Bar first opened, it was really a trial run.

And then over the years, we've continually expanded it.

It used to be Memorial Day through Labor Day.

It was a two and a half month run and now we do a full seven months.

That really came about during the pandemic.

While a lot of businesses were forced to close, we have this big outdoor space and we had the privilege of being able to stay open during those times.

We do all sorts of things from yoga to drag shows to dance classes, salsa, country line dancing.

We have a chess club meeting tomorrow.

It makes for a reason to come back each and every summer when we reopen our doors.

We love this event for so many reasons, but it gives us an opportunity to partner with other instructors and organizations that we care a lot about that are doing great things in the South Philly area and the Philadelphia area in general.

We have been around since 2012.

We do education and health care for our city's immigrant families.

Each rooftop yoga and fitness class that we feature is paired with a different nonprofit that will receive a donation as part of ticket sales and they will bring a representative from each of these nonprofits to then speak on their behalf and inform the guests who signed up for that day what it is in fact they're supporting.

I want to say thank you so much for support my community and support every programs who support the community.

It's as much about the experience of being up here and supporting the organizations as it is about doing the yoga.

I will have somebody here who has never done a yoga class and people who have been doing yoga for 20 years.

Release your hands underneath.

It's a reason to gather and that's always fun to do.

Besides the yoga and drag shows these are all free events and that's really important to us that the space is accessible.

People can just show up and then still get to participate.

That's always a really cool thing when people come to Bok Bar, bring their parents, bring people from out of town, and there just happens to be a country line dancing class.

We want everyone to be able to try it.

We don't want to just have the dancers who know how to line dance, so we teach easy dances.

We break out into sections of eight, we explain what the moves are, then we play the music.

I think we're ready to dance.

There's really hard dances.

We don't do those.

What we do is the fun, easy, rowdy type of dances that are going to get everybody excited and jumping or clapping.

It just brings the energy out.

You feel part of it.

Everybody in unison clapping.

It's magical.

On Tuesdays the bar is only open to the folks who take the class.

So after class the bartender opens up the bar just to the participants.

Sometimes feels like the best-kept secret.

I'll be up here hanging out with this group of friends from the gym or old neighbors of mine.

This doesn't even feel like fair.

We get to have an amazing evening.

It's not something you can experience just anywhere.

The race for open space that benefits the Wissahickon Trail is also an experience worth checking out the next time it comes around.

This race is more than a race because of what it does for the community.

We run through the streets of North Wales.

The people who live in the neighborhood who don't run the race come out and sit on the lawn and cheer you on.

This race has raised well in excess of a million dollars over the years.

It supports the community with green initiatives.

It supports our local EMTs, firefighters, police department.

36 years ago we started the 5k race.

It was pretty successful but it really became successful when I hooked up with the Wissahickon trails.

Tex-Mex Connection being a green certified restaurant is known in the area of being very environmentally conscious in terms of their practices in the restaurant.

They were looking to build the race and find a beneficiary and we have been partners ever since.

We've grown the race from just hundreds of people to 1300 people regularly and sell out every year.

We protect land in the Wissahickon Valley in Montgomery County.

We protect the creek and we try to connect the community to all of the natural world that is around them.

We have 24 miles of trails that are open to the public that we maintain.

The longest trail is 12.75 miles and it's a green ribbon trail that runs along the Wissahickon Creek.

In addition to that we have several preserves off of the creek that also have their own trail system.

Tex-Mex Connection has donated over $1 million to Wissican Trails.

And that money has been used not only to keep the area green and protect the creek and the land but also it helps us build more partnerships with the community.

You don't have to hike 10 miles.

You can just come here and stand on our bridge and listen to nature.

That alone is a health benefit.

So having this area to get away from the outside world and connect with nature is just very good for our well-being.

When you look further and see that it is also benefiting Wissahickon Trails, it is one of the most popular weeknight races in the area.

The trails and Tex-Mex have a symbiotic relationship because we both care deeply about the environment and the impact that we make and trying to do better for our community.

It has always been a great community race.

They turn out and then afterwards when the race is over everybody has gathered to have a little bit of a meal.

They finished and now they can have something to eat.

I have to admit I started to run the race because when you finish it you can have some nice margaritas from Tex-Mex and I could walk home.

Okay, so I tackled the hill and now I'm going to try out the outdoor gym.

Normally I can't do pull-ups but today I feel like I could do them all day.

But only with my friend Xavier helping me.

Thank you Xavier.

Now I'm going to bring my friend Chris who is actually going to show me how it's done.

And he has no bucket.

So awesome job Chris.

Thank you.

All right.

All jokes aside Chris the fitness stations are people taking advantage of them here.

Absolutely.

The fitness stations and the walking trail are a great way for folks to get out into the park and enjoy some of the other amenities that we have here.

And I find that a lot of the parks now have these stations installed standard which is great.

It's a great way for folks to get out and not have to pay for exercise.

The park has partnerships with community organizations as well.

Can you tell me about that?

Absolutely.

So community groups and residents use this park often but Newcastle County also hosts programs here.

We have the farmers market here at Glasgow from May through October.

That's on every Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m.

We also have music at the markets right here on the porch at the Fraser House.

That's from 530 to 7 every Thursday during the summer with live music and other vendors.

Of course youth programming that we provide.

We have the summer recreation camp, youth sports camps and a lot of other activities.

And I mean we saw it ourselves but it seems like the park has kind of become a really popular place for even just workout meetups.

Absolutely, a lot of groups come in here to meet.

We're excited this fall we're going to be doing the Walk and Roll program.

So it is a community-based physical activity group and they're going to have the wheelchair and stroller accessible.

Oh I love it.

Again, almost paved walking trails and it's also the leaders bilingual so Spanish speakers welcome.

Oh that's incredible.

Well Chris thank you so much for speaking with me and more importantly thank you for doing all of those pull-ups for our segment.

Okay well Chris you're gonna love this next story.

It's about a nurse who does CrossFit and sets a healthy example for her patients.

Nurse Tracy Johnson knows staying in shape benefits both her and her patients.

As a health professional I'd say it's important to keep moving because your body's always aging but even if you're just doing those movements for your everyday life it could transfer really well and help you keep that muscle tone and that aerobic fitness that you need as you get older.

When the first part of Tracy's day at the Chester County Health Department comes to an end she laces up her sneakers and gets ready to push herself to her limits.

[Music] We met here at the gym and we've been like best friends ever since and when you train with somebody you go through hard days, easy days, all the emotions of like your world here at the gym and then your world outside of the gym together.

[Music] CrossFit is a mixture of cardiovascular movements, rowing, running, biking, swimming.

It can be barbells, dumbbells, powerlifting movements like deadlifts and squats, or Olympic movements like snatches and clean and jerks.

It all comes down to how fast and efficient you can perform the moves to see how strong you're getting.

So usually the events are four time, so it means whoever does it the fastest does it the best.

So you get a given time domain, so let's say like 20 minutes, and you're supposed to get as many reps or rounds as you can in that time.

And the hard work has paid off for Tracy.

I've made it to the semifinal level for CrossFit, which is the precursor to the CrossFit Games.

I'm getting ready right now to compete at my next semifinal.

CrossFit is for everybody I would say because maybe not doing everything I'm doing out on the floor, lifting super heavy, doing all the skills, but CrossFit is ultimately scalable.

That's something that I love about it.

I enjoy pushing myself and seeing what my limits are.

Your body can do a lot more than your mind thinks it can.

Here's how you can get moving and help a Philly nonprofit.

Legacy of Hope's PHL 24 happens this weekend.

Join walkers and runners as they tackle the famous Rocky Steps.

PHL 24 is a 24 hour stair climb marathon at the Art Museum steps.

Legacy of Hope provides critical resources to underserved cancer patients.

Here's how you can learn more about this event.

And that is our show and look who I caught up with.

Suzy, how you doing?

Thanks so much for joining us.

Have a good night.

321 alright, we tackled the hill and now I am here at the outdoor gym and I'm going to try a pull up.

I'll do it like two.

No bucket.

Nice.

Wait, what am I saying here?

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