For twenty years, Albon Man was a part of the Palisades fabric, as he pushed Keith Phillips and others from Jawanio, daily in their wheelchairs on the Oak Tree Road sidewalk. “By the time I was 86, it became too difficult to push the wheelchair,” said Mr. Man now 92. Mark Morris does his brisk 1½ hour, six mile walk almost every day, listening to up to 25-30 audio books a year. Henry Ottley runs on Rte. 9W at dusk. Dennis and Evelyn Tighe walk just to keep the “muscles going,” after his wife’s hip surgery. Mr. (92) and Mrs. Nash (86) from the Esplanade, walk all over Palisades. “The length of our walk depends on how early we get out,” says Mrs. Nash, “so that we can make it back for breakfast at 8:30am.”

However, the king and queen of them all are Dick Sears of Lawrence Lane and Kim Algert of Iroquois Avenue. They are on the streets every day regardless of snow, rain or sweltering heat.

Dick started running forty years ago and has never stopped. By 1978 he was running marathons, doing 26 miles at a pace of under 8 minutes per mile. We’ve all seen him, like clockwork around lunchtime. His remarkable run, six days a week, covers 8 miles in less than two hours. He admits that it may appear that he is walking, but at 75, he has slowed a bit. “I’ve retired and have plenty of time, so what’s the rush!” he jokes. His basic route is north on Rte. 9W, along the Sparkill Creek, south on Rte. 340 and then back home. He initially started running to exercise his heart. “I’ve always considered it the key to good health,” he continues, “and figure while pushing myself day after day, the rest will take care of itself. I owe it to my wife Debbie to take care of myself!” He enjoys good food and fine wine, so by running he strikes a balance. He’s added listening to audio books and recently achieved what few can accomplish sitting down; he finished The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

Kim has been walking over two hours every day faithfully for twenty years. Her sister Wendy, from Orangeburg, walks too. Sometimes they walk together, sometimes alone, sometimes with a dog or with a child in a stroller, it all depends on what phase they are in their life or where they need to be pulled the rest of the day. Kim has four children ranging in ages from 7 to 15 who are collectively involved in seven sports. “My children have all been a part of my walk.” Unlike Dick, her route can change drastically. At any given day, she can be in Palisades, Rockleigh, Piermont, Tappan or in the Betsy Ross area. Each area provides a different terrain. “The hills of Washington Spring Road made it tough with a stroller,” Kim said. “During the pregnancy and baby years, we walked flat areas.” So even when you don’t see her in your area, it’s a guarantee she is out walking somewhere. “I schedule it into my day,” Kim says. “It’s just something I have to do.” Kim agrees with Dick, it makes her feel good and clears her head. It also helps her to problem solve and be more relaxed in dealing with the demands of the day. On weekends she squeezes in a walk as she and her husband, Peter, take turns attending their children’s games.

Both Dick and Kim are nonchalant and humble about what I find to be an awesome feat. Special shoes? No. Special exercise before? No. Special diet? No. Water bottle? No. Do they always want to go? No. But do they? Yes. No pre-training or fancy outfits or protein shakes. (Except Kim does enjoy her home-made banana muffins every morning.) They both prefer the road to trails and apologized for not waving to people driving by. “With the glare, it is hard to see,” they said. They hope people don’t think them rude. Occasionally they pass each other on the road. They each expressed their respect for the other. We hope that the sidewalk along Oak Tree to Rte. 9W will soon be installed. Then people on both sides of Rte. 9W can put away their cars and walk to the church, the library, post office and community center. There will be no stopping us!