SPIRITED WALKERS
2021 Spirited Walkers
Due to Covid, please contact Kay for more information at:
kayporter1@comcast.net
Or call her at 541-342-6875
The Spirited Walkers of Eugene
Train to walk the Eugene and Portland (half/full) Marathons with The Spirited Walkers of Eugene. We begin training in January each year and train steadily to be able to enjoy walking the half and/or full marathon in the early fall.
"The Spirited Walker" name is registered by Carolyn Scott Kortge, author of The Spirited Walker: Fitness Walking for Clarity, Balance, and Spiritual Connection (HarperSanFrancisco 1998). It is used in this marathon training program with her permission.
"Walking the marathon wasn't
anything I had planned,
but somehow I knew
the time had come..."
-recent participant
Walk the Marathon with Friends!
Group members receive training mileage logs for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels.
The cost is $175 for the 8 month training. To register, please call Kay Porter at 541-342-6875 or email her at kayporter1@comcast.net. Bring friends and come join us for fun and good walking training... even if you don't plan a Marathon yet!
Particulars
Train to walk the marathon with the Spirited Walkers of Eugene. We begin training in January each year and train steadily to be able to enjoy walking the marathon.
Led and coached by Kay Porter, Ph.D., a long time runner, walker and mental preparation Consultant, the group meets every month for an informational meeting and meets each weekend for the week's long walk together.
Group members receive monthly training mileage logs for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels. Contact Kay for more information or to sign up.
Spirited Walkers in the Media
Television
1) Interview on KEZI TV in Eugene, Oregon (left).
2) Interview on KVAL TV in Eugene, Oregon.
1) Eugene Register Guard Article
2) Magazine Article
Praise for Spirited Walkers
Hi Kay,
I just wanted to send a note to thank you for being at the finish line yesterday at the end of the Portland Marathon.
It means so much to me that you're there at the end waiting for us. We only stopped for a minute or two to talk to you, so it must seem somewhat anticlimactic for you to go to all the trouble to be there.
I want you to know that it is very much appreciated!!
Your guidance and training is what makes it possible for all of us to be able to do this amazing thing.
As you know, it rained like mad for the first 17 miles. At mile 14, M, S and I stopped to change our socks. Almost everyone who passed us commented on how smart we were for bringing dry socks. Each time, I shouted out "it's because of our good training!" And when we stood up and started walking again with our dry socks on we all felt like a million bucks!!
After the 20-miler, I was really looking forward to the Marathon with some dread, but your visualization and good words during our last meeting REALLY helped tremendously, and as it got closer to the day I was feeling better and better and really looking forward to it.
Every spot on the route that I was dreading was so much easier than I thought it would be. I actually had FUN and enjoyed myself for the first 20 miles, then it became a little harder and I played my mantra "strong legs, strong heart, strong mind, I'm well loved, and my body will do what I ask it to do." For me, the most important part of your last meeting was the reminder to thank our bodies for being able to do what we ask of it. This Marathon was 39 minutes slower than the Marathon I did 5 years ago and I was becoming overly obsessed with "slowing down" and thinking that it was a sign of failure. My doctors know I'm slowing down, but in July when I asked them if I could do the marathon, without hesitation they said "of course!"
I treated myself well last night and today I barely feel like I did anything out of the ordinary. In about an hour I'm going to get a massage and by tomorrow, I'm sure there will be no trace that I ever did a marathon. A true testament to our bodies' adaptability under good training!!
All the best,
TR
Kay:
Thanks for being our coach. This year's marathon walk was truly enjoyable, rain and all. You are an inspiration.
MD
Hi Kay:
I so enjoyed walking with your group and completing the half marathon. The Spirited Walkers are a wonderful group of women. I won't be able to join you this year, but I will join up with your group again next year! Thank you for everything!
Dear Kay,
Enjoyed our visit today and wanted to share with you my excitement about the benefits I have already reaped from being involved in your walking group just since January. I went to my doctor yesterday and found that my resting pulse rate is down to 56! It has been in the 80's for quite some time now & I am so grateful to be able to see this positive results in such a short time! I will be 70 next year and to be able to affect my health in a positive way at this age is very rewarding. Thank you for all your guidance and support.
A Spirited Walker,
GC
Hi Kay,
I just wanted to thank you for continuing to encourage me and guide me to walk. It has changed my life in ways I never dreamed it would. I thought I would join last year so that maybe I could use a few pounds and feel better. What I have found is strength and courage, I never knew I had - you have helped me find not only that inner athlete, but the strong and confident woman I have been looking for, for many years. You have empowered me, and I am looking forward to continuing the training so that I can reach my next goal of a full marathon.
Thank you, Kay.
LS
VISION QUEST ROGUE RIVER
Rogue River
A five day vision quest led by Dr. Kay Porter on the scenic and wild Rogue River in Southwestern Oregon.
You are invited to a mini-vision quest on the beautiful wild Rogue River in the Southwestern Oregon Siskiyou Mountains. A forty-mile trail runs along the Rogue from Galice to Illahe, a few miles from the mouth of the Rogue where it flows into the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach. We will drive to the middle of the trail, on back roads, entering into the Rogue canyon near Marial Lodge, a lodge catering to rafters and an occasional backpacker. The area near Marial also includes the old Billings Ranch, the first outpost built by the Billings family over 100 years ago. The Billings Ranch is now a BLM National Historic area. We enter the trail 2 miles downriver of the old Billings place.
We hike along the Rogue through forests of madrone, oak, pine and other native Oregon plants and trees, and rugged Mule Creek Canyon, reaching our base camp at Blossom Bar Creek, only 2 miles in from the trailhead. As we hike, we will enjoy the lush spring flowers along the trail: cat's ear, wild iris, wild lilac, purple lilies and more. Part of your experience will be to build in you, an acute awareness of nature, sharpening your senses and your ability to see, feel and hear the wilderness. We will practice these skills on our hike into Blossom Bar.
At base camp we will invoke the seven directions, have a purification ceremony and pray for our visions. Questers then go to find their vision quest spot where they will spend the next 3 days and nights, calling for their vision. These three days and nights will be fasting with water and soloing. Soloing is spending time alone in the wilderness area in the quester's medicine circle, meditating, journaling and communing with nature and Great Spirit.
The fourth morning questers will return to base camp to convene together, receiving a nutritious and nurturing breakfast and to discuss their experiences. Later that day, we will hike out to the trailhead and return to Eugene.
The Rogue River is a wild river of America and was an honored river by native Americans in the region. It is a powerful river and power place. It is a beautiful, dark green, fast running river, with many rapids and eddies, and has many lovely creeks intersecting its banks. The trail that follows its edge is well maintained but rugged. It was originally built as access to mining claims over 100 years ago, and follows older native American trails. The area has much wild life, including black bears, deer, squirrels, ring tailed cats, snakes and many species of birds. It's Fall salmon and steelhead fishing is legendary. It supported a number of mines throughout its history and many traces are still evident along the trail and creeks in the area.
It is a place of historic significance and wild beauty and I invite you to enjoy this natural splendor while you search for answers to the important questions of your life.
Only groups of a maximum of six people can camp in the wilderness area, so if you are interested, please send your deposit of $350 to me asap to reserve your space. Let me know if you want to join us, and I'll send you a release. Total cost for the Vision Quest is $700.
Email me at: kayporter1@comcast.net or call (541) 342-6875. This is a wonderful trip. Hope you can join us on Memorial Day weekend! Summer in the Oregon wilderness is exquisite, and we'll have a great time!