Lucille says her workouts help her meet a health challenge:

"I have lupus and have been working out at the gym for 20 years or more. It's hard to do but I keep at it because I can move better."

Shared on May 12, 2008 Share your story

Clarine didn't plan to lose weight at first, but now she's hooked on daily walking, which helps her maintain a healthy weight. Here's her story:

"With a family history of diabetes and being overweight, I started to Weight Watchers in 2004 with my boss, not really planning to go and lose weight. I lost five pounds the first week and I was hooked. Ten months later in July 2005 I reached my goal weight, losing 54 pounds. By the way, I will be a life member three years in July of this year.

"Not wanting to put the weight back on, I started walking as my exercise of choice. I have been walking for the past three+ years trying to do at least three miles per day. During the spring and sometimes summer I take advantage of the fact that I work right beside a park that has a walking path and sneak in an extra three miles at lunch.

"I saw this Web site in the CPCC Communicator and thought I would give it a try. Sometimes I am not too good at writing things down, so I really don't know how many miles I walk a year and thought it might be interesting to know."

Shared on May 11, 2008 Share your story

Now able to walk regularly, Dianne's story is an encouraging one for those who know they need to make some changes to improve their health:

"I am a 56-year-old white female who was obese, at 5 feet 1 inch and weighing in at 230 pounds. I was on high blood pressure and high cholesterol medication for 6 years. My right knee had already given out and I had had a partial knee replacement six years ago, now with a stress fracture because of the weight. My spine has three bulging discs (confirmed from MRI). Sleep apnea and snoring were a problem also. I was on an inhaler for asthma and was told I was a walking time bomb for a stroke or a heart attack.

"I had gastric bypass surgery August 6, 2007. Since this time I have lost 88 pounds and am off all of the meds and no longer snore. I am having to walk and do exercise on a daily basis, which I was not able to do before.

"I feel like when I woke up from my surgery, my life changed in a way that I cannot express. I feel like when I woke up from the surgery, a new Dianne and body had taken the place of the old fat one who died on the table. I could not walk past a couple of houses in our neighborhood because of either being in pain from my joints or could not breathe without gasping for air. Now I can out-walk my husband, and he has to stop and take a breather.

"What I am trying to say to those who do not walk or who cannot do it because of health problems, if you start out slowly and keep working on it on a daily basis, then you have not failed, you have beaten the odds. A little bit of exercise and walking to start out with is better than just sitting there and not doing anything. Don't give up and give in, just keep on keeping on and walk for better health."

Shared on May 10, 2008 Share your story

We are walking east now in places like Garner and Clayton, but commuting back and forth to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill for events. The good news is that Kathy Higgins and I hit the 350-mile mark this week, and on a personal note I weighed in at 20 pounds less today.

What is the bad news? We'll there's really no bad news, except that the beautiful, scenic mountains that surrounded us during the early weeks of the Million Step March have been replaced by scenes of Belk, Verizon, Williams-Sonoma and Dairy Queen stores. Do we really need to see strip malls, specialty stores and BBQ restaurants? Well, maybe the BBQ places!

The best news is that the area stops we've made (and will continue to make for a few more days) have been some of the best of the campaign. "The March" is in full swing now and it's clear that we are connecting with many, many people.

Following the halfway point "Rally in Raleigh," we made stops at places like Structure House, a live-in facility for morbidly obese people in Durham. It was a chance to take my personal message and the message of the Million Step March directly to people who struggle with weight and the staff who treats them. We also did some stops at various Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina locations where they cheered on one of their own – the simply unstoppable Kathy Higgins.

At WakeMed Hospital just today, I walked into a standing ovation and one of the sweetest crowds yet. Not bad when you haven't even said anything, right? Our group walks at all of our event stops have been a big hit as well. Dr. Don Bradley, who has been walking with us for over three weeks now, has been actually leading these walks – Kathy and I are saving our energy for the road.

We'll have video highlights of many of our stops very shortly. In the meantime keep your own health goals going, and keep on marching!

Posted by Gary Marino on May 9, 2008