Every morning since late April, Phillip Woods has, weather permitting, taken a morning walk.
Those morning walks evolve into afternoon walks, and eventually, at about 7 p.m. each day, after hours of keeping his legs moving and heart thumping, he calls it quits.
"I'm the only one dumb enough to get out in this heat," Mr. Woods says jokingly. "I'm used to this. Day after day doing this, you get in shape."
He'd better be, he's got about 1,400 miles to go.
About 1,300 miles into his walk from the Canadian border town of International Falls, Minn., to Key West, Fla., the 72-year-old took a trek through downtown Chattanooga.
He has two basic missions for his cross-country journey: to encourage people to be active and "If you can dream, you can do it. That's basically what I'm about."
And if you try to throw money his way, the Columbus, Ind., native will reply, "Give it to a local charity of your choice."
Mr. Woods is no stranger to bypassing mechanical modes of transportation to get across the country. The retired businessman walked from Maryland to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge between 2004 and 2006, despite a broken blood vessel in his bladder and a foot injury on his first day.
"I limped for 178 miles," he recalled.
He eventually stopped for a healing period.
He had to split up the 3,100-mile journey over three years for various reasons such as the injured foot and spending time with his family, but he was sure to mark the exact spots where he left off before returning months later.
Walk With Woods 2010Name: Phillip WoodsAge: 72Starting point: International Falls, Minn.Destination: Key West, Fla.Number of states: 10Total miles to get to Chattanooga: Almost 1,300Expected overall miles: 2,700Source: www.walkwithwoods.com
"I didn't cheat a step," he said.
While he's traveling down the road, his wife, Carole, keeps him hydrated and fed. She's always one step ahead or one step behind her husband in what the couple calls the "chuck wagon," or in other words, their Dodge truck.
"We sort of play leapfrog," she says.
The Woods' journey began on April 23, and they expect to reach their Florida destination on Oct. 15, taking some time off in between to spend time with their grandchildren.
Mr. Woods said he hopes he can serve as a beacon for Tennesseans, who recently found their state in a tie with Alabama as the second fattest in the country in a report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Foundation.
A piece of advice to those living in the Volunteer State: "If a 72-year-old man can walk 25 miles a day, surely some of these younger people can walk half a mile a day."
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