Nordic walkers start on right (Foote) path

Elizabeth Foote didn't really have anything better to do when a friend called to ask if she wanted to demonstrate nordic walking at the Outdoor Retailer show in 2004.

"I said, 'I'm sure I don't fit in, but why not?' " recalls the West Jordan mother. "My friend said, 'We don't care what you look like; we don't care what kind of shape you're in.' I pictured these skinny, granola, outdoor types, and I looked like, well, I looked like a 40-year-old soccer mom with a desk job because that's what I am."

When she showed up at the Salt Palace to learn nordic walking, she said she was overwhelmed.

"I was very, incredibly intimidated," Foote said. "I thought, 'I could never learn this.' "

But she did.

Not only did she learn it, she demonstrated it for 2 ½ hours, and it changed both her view of exercise and herself.

"Leki provided us with poles, and the trainer was from Austria," Foote said. "I was having a hard time moving my feet in time with the poles, and he wanted perfect form. After the lesson, they said come back Saturday and demonstrate it to others."

She came back and found a large group of people who also were going to demonstrate the exercise, which evolved from the efforts of cross-country skiers to stay fit sans snow by using their poles and walking or running.

"I thought this is the weirdest thing I've ever seen," Foote said. "But I kept up with the group, and I wasn't sore."

She immediately got her friend Donna Mirabile involved. Donna struggled with a number of health problems, including asthma and diabetes, and she was severely overweight. She'd shunned the gym because of the stares she received, and she weighed too much to set equipment in her home. She'd even resorted to addiction counseling to help her lose weight.

"We couldn't find an exercise that we could do," said Mirabile. "When you weigh 362 pounds, you can't buy fitness equipment off the rack. A (commercial-grade) elliptical costs $6,000. You have to be fairly self-confident to work out in a gym."

The women said they hear from many women like them who don't even want to be seen in public, let alone huffing and puffing in a gymnasium.

"We started Footepath because no one else was carrying the poles," said Foote. "We were so excited when we found Nordic walking because we thought, 'Finally, here is an exercise that we can do!' When you're not fit or you have serious health issues, you don't have a lot of options."

In April of 2006, the two started Footepath.org, which not only sells and rents the poles but also gives lessons on nordic walking. They also explain the benefits and offer support for those interested in learning the technique.

"It exercises up to 90 percent of the muscles in your body," said Foote.

Despite its effectiveness, it's far from intimidating.