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October 3, 2000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d They come in sweatpants and shorts, suits and scrubs \u00e2\u20ac\u201d looking for a quick escape.<\/p>\n
They leave the classroom, the office, the living room couch, and walk or jog a flat stretch of Gainesville sidewalk that, at some point in history, became known as the “Brenau Mile.”<\/p>\n
They are an eclectic lot, these Brenau Milers. Old and young, and those in between. Some in search of a serious sweat, others a leisurely stroll.<\/p>\n
The regulars know each other. Names and backgrounds are of little import, but faces become familiar over the years. They greet each other with a friendly wave, a knowing smile.<\/p>\n
It’s as if they are in on a secret, as if they are members of an exclusive club.<\/p>\n
But the Brenau Mile is anything but. It’s simply a rectangle of public sidewalk, after all. Created by the streets of Washington, Prior, Candler and Boulevard, the well-traveled route compasses the campus of Brenau University.<\/p>\n
The neighborhood looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.<\/p>\n
On Friday, longtime Milers Ann Mahefkey, an administrator at the university, and Tina Carlson-Griffeth, a local public relations executive, let me tag along on their lunchtime laps around the circuit. They started walking it \u00e2\u20ac\u201d religiously \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 15 years ago, before the Brenau Mile moniker came into vogue. They change into their walking clothes in Ann’s office.<\/p>\n
“We’ve done this through pregnancies, back surgeries, sprained ankles, sprained knees,” Ann said.<\/p>\n
“We’ve walked through snow and ice and rain,” Tina said. “People look at us like we’re stupid.”<\/p>\n
Tina admits to being somewhat addicted to their midday routine. She rarely OKs lunch meetings, or anything else that would cut into her walking time.<\/p>\n
“You could have a really bad morning,” she said. “This just changes your whole entire point of view.”<\/p>\n
We did three loops around the Brenau Mile, passing landmarks like Sorority Circle and a nice assortment of quaint homes and fine-trimmed lawns along the way. Ann and Tina have watched the backdrop change during the past 15 years. Homes get painted and repainted (and painted again in the minds of passers-by). People come and go.<\/p>\n
But one thing that remains the same is the mile itself.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know when the first person measured it,” Tina said.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know if anybody has measured it,” Ann added.<\/p>\n
“We’re assuming somebody has measured it,” Tina concluded.<\/p>\n
Well, now somebody has. After we finished, my trusty Toyota and I drove around the elongated block. And, wouldn’t you know, it’s a mile.<\/p>\n
Exactly. Precisely.<\/p>\n
I imagine I’m not the first person to come to this epiphany.<\/p>\n
The mile is safe, users say. Streetlights line the entire route. And, right in the center of town, it’s convenient for many.<\/p>\n
“You don’t have to go to school here to know about the Brenau Mile,” said university freshman Marjorie Vining, a multi-sport athlete during her days at East Hall High.<\/p>\n
Vining has jogged the course “at least four days a week” since classes started a month ago.<\/p>\n
“I would much rather run the Brenau Mile than run around a track,” she said. “The scenery really helps.”<\/p>\n
Scenery and safety keep Ann and Tina coming back. But, more than that, it’s the feeling. The heart beats faster. The outdoor air soothes the skin. The body works. It’s the feeling of being healthy.<\/p>\n
The duo aims for five walks a week.<\/p>\n
“It’s just a challenge, you know,” Ann said. “And it beats going out and eating a cheeseburger and fries.”<\/p>\n
“You guys keep a pretty fast pace,” I said to my walking partners as a lap No. 3 winded down.<\/p>\n
Ann chuckled. “We usually walk a little faster,” she said. “You’re an ambler.”<\/p>\n
But that’s the beauty of the Brenau Mile. Everyone \u00e2\u20ac\u201d even a long-legged ambler like me \u00e2\u20ac\u201d is welcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
October 3, 2000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d They come in sweatpants and shorts, suits and scrubs \u00e2\u20ac\u201d looking for a quick escape. They leave the classroom, the office, the living room couch, and walk or jog a flat stretch of Gainesville sidewalk that, at some point in history, became known as the “Brenau …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201,"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions\/201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danwashburn.com\/sportinglife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}