Wonder Walker : Delaware Man Hot-Footing It to Become First Person to Cover All 50 States on One Hike

It was Rob Sweetgall’s 168th day on the road as he briskly skirted this tiny desert town north of Las Vegas.

Sweetgall is hoofing it through America--hoping, he said, to become the first person to hike through all 50 states on one continuous walk.

By Friday, the 37-year-old had walked 5,120 miles through 21 states since he left his Newark, Del., home last September on a stroll that he said was intended to spread “the message that walking can improve our hearts, health and happiness.”

After he got to Las Vegas four days earlier, he flew to Boston, to the University of Massachusetts Medical School to spend a day taking a battery of heart, lung, blood, strength and muscle flexibility tests.

Every 42 days he interrupts his trek for two days to undergo the tests at the Medical School’s Center for Health, Fitness and Human Performance and at the University of Massachusetts Department of Exercise Science.

Doctors are monitoring Sweetgall’s body to measure more than a dozen functions of his heart and lungs, to determine the long-term effects of his continuous walking motion on his overall strength and flexibility.

Sonar beams are bounced off the wall of his heart. His blood is analyzed. His feet are X-rayed. Changes in Sweetgall’s lean body mass and total body fat are noted.

“Rob is demonstrating that one can achieve significant cardiovascular and aerobic benefits from walking,” explained Dr. James Rippe, director of the fitness center in a telephone interview from Boston. “We are conducting a thorough scientific study on the physiological effects of his year-long odyssey.

“We prescribe walking for every heart disease patient that comes to the hospital.”

During his planned 11,600-mile journey, Sweetgall intends to address 140 school assemblies about the joys and values of exercise.

“I warn kids about the dangers of smoking, overeating and sedentary behavior. I tell them that a brisk 30-minute walk each day can reduce the risk of a heart attack by as much as 65%. I recount many adventures I’ve had in my trip so far,” he explained while resting on an old tire in the shade of a cactus.

He has talked to elementary, junior high and high school students in 21 assemblies in California schools. Sweetgall spent 32 days walking nearly 900 miles in California, the greatest distance he will cover in any state.

On Dec. 30, he flew to Anchorage from Seattle and walked 11 miles in the Alaskan city before returning to Seattle. He spent 12 hours in Hawaii on Jan. 28 after a flight from San Francisco and walked 15 miles through Honolulu.

The rest of the hike is a continuous walk from one state to the next, with the shortest distance in Florida, where he will walk five miles as he nips a corner of the state.

He averages 3.7 miles an hour, 32 miles a day, as he walks along highway shoulders and through open country. He walks seven days a week.

“I keep going, pushing ahead, regardless of weather. I’ve walked through 18 days of rain, through five snowstorms, against 65-mile-an-hour winds, in below-zero temperatures, through 250 miles of ice and snow in Montana, Idaho and Washington,” Sweetgall said.

Sometimes people walk along with him for several miles, but most of the time he is by himself. He has had blood blisters on his feet and a few sore throats, but other than that has had no serious physical problems.

“I really watch my feet,” he said. “I apply foot powder, lanolin and hot towels to my feet every night to keep them supple and moist. I have been walking in shoes without wearing socks to give my feet a lot of air.”

He stops to eat 10 times a day.

“I usually have three breakfasts, cold or hot cereals, eggs over easy (but he doesn’t eat the yolks), a lot of bread, potatoes and salads the rest of the day. I’m a vegetarian,” Sweetgall said. He estimated that he burns 300 to 350 calories an hour. He logs every calorie in the food he eats and mails the information to Boston.

He sleeps mostly in motels, but has also slept in grain elevators, police stations and private homes. A footwear firm and a sports clothes manufacturer are paying his expenses.

10,600-Mile Walk

Sweetgall spent nine months in 1982 and 1983 walking 10,600 miles around the perimeter of the United States.

He worked as a chemical engineer for the DuPont Corp. for 12 years. Then, within a few months, his father, aunt and two uncles died of heart disease.

Their deaths changed his life. He gave up his career as a chemical engineer and founded the Foundation for Development of Cardiovascular Health. He is executive director of the nonprofit agency, which sponsors clinics on physical fitness.

“Every mile of the way is different,” the ruddy-faced hiker said. “My daily schedule is eating, sleeping, walking, talking, resting and meeting new people all along the way.”