A walking group in Portland, Oregon is proving the mall never really went out of style. Food Court 5000, founded by Krista Catwood at Lloyd Center, meets every Sunday morning for three and a half miles of power walking, and members show up in full ’90s workout gear: spandex, windbreakers, sneakers and scrunchies. Catwood says the group has become known around the mall and calls her members the B-celebrities of the mall.
The appeal is easy to understand. Walking is free, low-impact and easy to stick with when you have people waiting for you. Member Leslie Kelinson, who turns 81 in two months, says the meetups are fun, healthy and inspiring, and she’s having the time of her life. That social pull is what keeps a group like this going after the initial novelty wears off.
Here on the Suncoast, we have the ingredients for something similar: air-conditioned malls, flat floors, and plenty of retirees and snowbirds looking for a reason to get out of the house and move. A Sunday walking crew might start small, but small is how Food Court 5000 started too. Would you join a local mall walking group, or start one yourself?
