Today we're going to do something that we've never done before on the podcast. I am going to have a

walking partner, my wife. Welcome to walking is fitness. This is a podcast of action,

providing a little extra motivation to help you keep that fitness promise you made to yourself.

Hi, I'm Dave. I've been walking for fitness since 2013, averaging about 21,000 steps a day.

I am walking right now and would love to have you join me and Ava for the next 10 minutes.

A couple weeks ago, got an email from a listener named Carolyn.

She said she either walks or runs through her neighborhood, which is pretty hilly.

And she would like to take advantage of some nearby parks, but is concerned

because she does this alone. And of course, there's the safety issue and wondered what I thought

about it and if I thought she was overreacting.

My first take on that was,

I'm just not equipped to answer this question.

Because Ava, my wife, often points out

how different it is for men and women.

Like, we'll pull her into a parking lot.

She'll say, if she was alone,

she wouldn't park where I just parked. And then she'll point out why. And it's like, oh,

I never even considered that. That thought would never cross my mind. So her perspective,

her experience as a woman is obviously different than

mine when it comes to issues of safety. And Ava's a runner. And she does almost all of her running

alone, not with a group. When we lived in Maryland, there was a park near our home, a couple of miles

away, that she frequently used.

...