WalkIcon: John Joseph

John Joseph (and his granddaughter), pictured here, have fun reflecting on all the races he's walked and finished! This collection of race t-shirts, awarded for officially registering and participating in each event, inspires him to "keep it movin''".

::: Intro: Meet John

It was a cold, rainy January morning when the classroom began to fill with racewalking students. During group introductions, John Joseph shared facts about his journey from overweight and sedentary to a perpetually active walker. With a great sense of humor and a quick wit, John is a fun person to be around but you’ll have to catch up with him first! On the path, John walks a swift pace and moves into a zone that carries him through volkswalks and marathons with ease.

When you hear about all of the walk/run events he’s been part of and you see him looking healthy and happy, it’s hard to believe he’s ever been unfit. Yet, in 40 years as a manager and several other positions with the State of California, like many of us, John had gradually become physically inactive. Through a series of career posts and promotions, he played a critical part in the effective delivery of services to millions of children in California’s social services and foster care systems. But, while bringing talent, professionalism and compassion to his work, John admits neglecting his own health.

Today, John can proudly claim a turnaround. Using the flexibility of his post-retirement schedule to fit in more exercise, he’s trained himself to walk nearly every fundraising marathon offered in Northern California and some beyond. Down from 340, he’s 80 pounds lighter for all the hard work and says his next goal is curbing what he calls ‘recreational eating’.

Cheering and supporting him are his wife, three children and five grandkids. Like all good grandparents, he pitches in to help with their care. And, as the father of a son with Downs Syndrome, John is also involved in developmental disability issues, serving on the Alta Regional Center board and the Sacramento Association for the Retarded.

This profile honors John Joseph as a WalkIcon and healthy lifestyle role model for all of us.

::: On Racewalking

Walktopia: What brought you to the racewalking class?
John Joseph: I was doing 5K walks and the racewalking technique started to look pretty interesting to me. What finally brought me to it was a lady who racewalked past me every time. She’s about 75 years old and could really crank it out! I finally asked her how she did it and she told me. When I started to apply racewalking, I was interested in improving my time but it ended up slowing me down. I did better just trying to take bigger steps. I can do the racewalking gait for a while but I learned that my stride is pretty ingrained.

::: Why Walk?

Walktopia: How did you select walking as your exercise of choice?
John Joseph: I didn’t want to mess up my knees. Jogging at my age and with the weight would have been detrimental. I decided that walking is the best form of exercise.

Walktopia: Why do you walk races? Why do you walk at athletic events versus taking a walk in the park or doing a walking workout on your home treadmill?
John Joseph: Walking in races is just an activity I thought I’d try. Next thing you know, I broke 40 minutes for a 5K and decided I kinda liked it! The nice part is, you get to see your time recorded and posted along with everybody else's.

I could probably jog and get down to 35 minutes but I’d probably mess up my knees. I like the idea of doing the distance events because you have a timed period to compete. It’s usually offered in the morning and that’s a good time to get exercise done and out of the way.

I get a bit tired at the end of a 10K volkswalk but it’s not as intense as trying to racewalk. Park walks are part of it, too. I do 2 miles a day at Mc Kinley Park and when I’m training for a 5K I’ll increase it to 3 miles.

::: About the Competition

Walktopia: What’s it like to walk a race where others are running?
John Joseph: There are a lot of people who should be walking the race but instead, they’re running. You see them get out of breath and eventually start to walk. For example, at the beginning of a timed race, 300 people pass you because you’re walking and you’re off to the right side and they’re just charging by. But toward the end of the race you find out there’s that 15% or so who’ve never done it before. They don’t seem to hurt themselves so there’s definitely a comical side to it. You see them floundering and think, “Gee, I’m just walkin’ and they’re dropping like flies.” Lots of them will pass you but then they’ll stop, panting. When you see that you end up saying to yourself, “He's only 30--I’m in better shape than I thought!” When I finish at the back of the pack, there’s probably 70 people behind me because they’re in worse shape than I am.

On the other hand, there are the disheartening races like one Thanksgiving event over by the local university. There are tons of people in it and you get passed by 9 year olds who are really good runners :D.

Walking races was all very intimidating when I started but I found out that everyone isn’t an elite runner. Some people are running with kids or racing with baby strollers. Some pass me and some don’t.

::: Training to Walk—For Life

Walktopia: How do you stay fit for events?
John Joseph: Belonging to an athletic club is something I really enjoy. About 3 days a week, I do the elliptical trainers while reading or watching tv. It’s easy on the knees and 4 miles seems like nothing. Then, I sprinkle in some time on the exercise bike and later, walking on my treadmill at home.

::: Calories In…

Walktopia: Is the weight loss still happening?
John Joseph: I was overweight for a long time, rationalizing along the way, “I’ve got a high pressure job and I’m eating for self-medication” or “I’ve got to finish this half-gallon of ice cream to face up to all the stress of my work.” After retirement I knew it was no more excuses. Now, the challenge is, I overeat with health food like nuts and raisins.

Walktopia: What diet is working best for you now?
John Joseph: You name the diet, I’ve been on it—from Weight Watchers to Kaiser Healthy Weight program. They’re helpful but I’ve found it’s all just trying to shed yourself of problems because so much of overweight is psychological anyway. You’re trying to help yourself and you do a lot of unconscious eating. You get into bad habits like not weighing yourself and you start snacking. Let’s face it, you eat a meal and an hour later you wonder what there is to snack on…it gets easy to eat too much.

Walktopia: Any advice for all of us working to improve our healthy eating and healthy weight?
John Joseph: Do something you have to do, something you like. According to everything I read, I should be doing weight training but I don’t think it’s much fun (and you can’t read while you do it!). I’ve done everything from nautilus to lifting weights but can’t sustain it. So, you’ve got to find something that you like to do—whether it’s aerobic or not. Walking is pretty easy. Especially, as you get older. It’s a way you can start getting yourself into condition. Anyone can do it.

::: John Joseph’s Walk List

John’s walked and finished the 5K option at these events this year, so far. He’s looking ahead to November’s Davis Turkey Trot and the Thanksgiving Day Run to Feed the Hungry. Cheer him on and be sure to enter some races yourself!

February - Davis Stampede – to benefit prostate cancer prevention and treatment (Finished #1640)

February - Valentine Run – Country Club

March - Nutrition Fuels Fitness – Elk Grove - to benefit child nutrition

March - Shamrockin’ - Sacramento

April – Childcare “Mothers of Preschoolers” – Auburn (Finished #2)

May - No Excuses 5K – Memorial Day

June - River City Run – to benefit the Sierra Club

August – Race for the Arts

TUNE IN TO THE NEXT BLOG ENTRY coming soon, where John shares views about these topics and more...People he calls ‘ultravolkswalkers’...Tools you can use to stay on track with eating right, exercising and walking races...A "war" story from a walk along Oregon’s Columbia River.

Photo Credit: The Joseph Family

Read the other parts of this WalkIcon series here: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Tags: John Joseph, WalkIcon, Weight Loss