Road to recovery
Walking a healing pursuit for Kitchener man
KITCHENER — If John Vanderzand has somewhere to be, most often he walks there. Even if it’s to join one of his regular walking groups.
Not only is he a dedicated walker, the Kitchener man meticulously records the distance he covers on foot every day. That’s how he can say with confidence he walked exactly 7,098 kilometres in just a year.
“Some people tell me I walk more than they drive their car,” Vanderzand joked.
He can also tell you how far he walked in each pair of shoes he received through the Minds in Motion Initiative shoe fund, which has been providing shoes to people who are on fixed incomes due to mental health challenges and who use walking and other physical activity to help with their recovery.
Vanderzand’s current pair is showing the wear from taking him 4,349.6 kilometres, according to the running tally in his logbook.
“I just noticed these shoes are starting to come loose at the soles,” Vanderzand said of his size 15, extra wide black shoes.
Fortunately, he’s getting a new pair next week to take him another 4,000-plus kilometres. In winter, hiking boots are enlisted for his daily walkabouts.
Finding ways to get around other than by car has been a necessity for Vanderzand, who has suffered from epilepsy since he was a child and wasn’t able to get a driver’s licence. He used to get around a lot by bike, but these days it’s all about walking.
“I avoid taking the bus as much as possible,” said Vanderzand, who turns 61 on Sunday.
If he has somewhere to be, even if it’s in Waterloo or Cambridge, then walking will get him there.
Putting one foot in front of the other has made him stronger in body, mind and soul.
Vanderzand has been able to keep diabetes at bay since being told he was prediabetic in 2010, and walking was part of the prescription.
“They said walking would be good to help keep my blood sugar under control, so that’s when I started doing more and more walking,” he said.
A year earlier, Vanderzand struggled with thoughts of suicide and was hospitalized for four weeks. An outreach program he joined gave him something that had been missing for much of his life — friends. Together the group would go bowling and have game nights.
“I think it started making me a lot happier in life,” said Vanderzand, who was bullied as a child because of his epilepsy and for a long time struggled with anger.
Vanderzand also found a welcoming church and “I tend to do a lot more praying when I’m walking.” Then he started joining hiking and walking groups, including the Walk on Strong group hosted by Dave and Sue Lewis.
The couple founded the KW Walking Classic, the major fundraising event for Minds in Motion. After nine years of holding walks, this year’s event was cancelled because there just wasn’t enough help or core funding needed to put on the big event that drew hundreds of walkers. Donations can still be made to the shoe fund at mimiwalks.com.
Vanderzand has received four pairs of shoes so far — high-quality footwear that would be tough for him to buy since he relies on a disability pension and subsidized housing.
Sue Lewis put an app on his phone just over a year ago to track his walking distance. All of his activities in the community also rack up the steps along with volunteering, including preparing a weekly meal at Ray of Hope.
Each day, he jots down the distance in a white binder and tallies total kilometres.
“Actually to see how much you did was encouragement to keep doing it,” Vanderzand said. “If you noticed days when you were going lower, then you’d try to make it up.”
He hopes to get up to a daily average of 20 kilometres. Walking in nature is his favourite and he often strolls through Victoria Park, which is not too far from his apartment.
Walking kilometre after kilometre, Vanderzand’s cares drift away.
“It just seems to clear your mind.”