For the past two years, women age 50 and above who live in Alameda and surrounding areas have been coming together to walk with the Alameda 50+ Women’s Walking Group. Born from founder Anna Majors’ desire to support fitness and community, the group started in spring 2023 and now has more than 2.2 K members.
Originally started on NextDoor, the group has grown not only in membership, but also in activities. It currently offers walks at three paces—turtle, easy strider, and cardio—as well as a Friday evening restorative walk. The walks take place in various parts of Alameda, including the West End, South Shore, and Bay Farm, at different times of the day, including mornings, afternoon, evenings, and weekends.
In addition to walks, the Alameda 50+ Women’s Walking Group offers a weekly hike in the redwoods at Reinhardt Regional Park in Oakland, as well as multiple opportunities to play pickleball during the week. The weekly schedule also includes a Thursday brunch which provides an opportunity for members to gather and meet regardless of which speed they walk or which activities they choose. They also have a monthly book club that starts with a walk and chat with prompts followed by a more in depth discussion at a cafe.
When Majors, a nutritionist, founded the group, she knew the health benefits of walking, but it was the added benefits of walking with other women, making connections, and building community that spurred her to action in 2023. In reaching out to see if others were interested in walking together, Majors originally hoped to find five other interested women. What she found instead was an outpouring of enthusiasm.
Initially, the hardest part was figuring out logistics to create safety parameters. Alameda 50+ Women’s Walking Group moved to Facebook, where members could be vetted and communications could be private. As the group grew, members stepped forward to be facilitators, adding new walks. Women were showing up for the walks and bringing their friends, which immediately established a wide diversity of representation. There are walkers who barely made the 50-year age requirement, and others well into their 70s and beyond. Some of the walkers still work full-time, some part-time, and some are retired. There are walkers who still have kids at home, along with empty-nesters and those with no children. There are walkers from across the United States, around the world, and a few are homegrown right here in Alameda.
The diversity wasn’t surprising, but passion for the group was an unexpected side effect, according to Majors.
“From my very first walk, I knew this group was special. I never knew I could get my health back and lose 25 pounds in three months,” said TracyAnn Tutko Eggen, an early member who volunteered to help get the turtle group started as well as the hiking group.
“Friendships with women are so important at any age,” she added. “The walking group gifted me with my local tribe and friends to experience life’s treasures.”
Eggen’s experience was not unique. Woman after woman has expressed how the group has made a positive impact on their lives, not only physically, but socially and emotionally as well.
“I moved to Alameda a few years ago. While I had friends in the Bay Area, I knew almost nobody in Alameda. Joining the group was a great way to meet and become friends with other active women my age,” said Donna Herzing, one of the early members and facilitator of the Grand Marina walks. “It’s been so rewarding to make real friendships with women in the group. While we walk we catch up on life—kids, grandkids, jobs, health issues. We look out for one another and check in if we haven’t seen a member in a while. I love living in Alameda and the group is one of the reasons why.”
Majors is equally thrilled and humbled with the success of the group. While the numbers of individual walks rise and fall depending on interest, weather, and other factors, the group continues to look ahead to see how it can provide opportunities to grow in health and connection. They are looking to add additional events, including tennis, golf, and even board games.
Majors has both witnessed and experienced firsthand the compassion, empathy, and support that members provide for each other. Whether it’s sharing a recipe, giving a ride to the airport, offering gardening advice, giving salon recommendations, or providing a shoulder to cry on, the group continues to prove that walks are just the starting point for something very special in the Alameda community. Majors hopes that “women will continue to form relationships, lifelong relationships, to support community and friendship—all while getting healthy.”
Kelly Rogers Flynt contributes reviews of theatrical productions to the Alameda Post. Reach her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Kelly-Flynt.
