As I polished off a final walk for 2024 just now, disparate thoughts of “obsessed with stats” and “doing what matters” occured to me. Once again I had a goal to complete 365 walks in a year – rules are pretty simple – minimum walk two kilometres, can’t break a longer walk just to claim more than one, and purposeful walk (but can have another purpose too like going somewhere!). I nearly didn’t make it. On 30 November with 31 days left I had 39 walks to go. The pressure! But I clicked over 365 on the 28th, with the sudden realisation that it was a leap year and questioning whether the goal should have been 366 walks this year. Maybe it should have been, but I’m now comfortably home on 367, average walk 4km, total 1470.25 kilometres. Final walk 30 December 4km, longest walk 21.21km (Auckland half marathon) and according to the App I use I burned over 170,000 calories. Happily I must have consumed slightly less than that, as another goal for my weight is well progressed.
It’s subject to audit. My school friend Nigel checks my walks, comments to keep me motivated, but critiques where the map looks dodgy (“went for a drive by the look of it” before hitting “stop” on the App was a common observation), all of which I corrected or ignored in my total. Integrity matters when no one is watching.
I walked in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Rakaia Gorge, Methven, Oamaru, Queenstown, London, Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Las Vegas, New York, Washington DC, Noumea and Singapore. If that all sounds a bit grand, it is. But it included a long postponed trip to see whanau and some work travel I was privileged to do.
For me this is all very fascinating and satisfying for my obsessed with stats brain. But that’s just the means to an end.
The end is health, in all its physical forms: rehabilitative, cardio, weight control, movement (use or lose at my age). And it’s psychological forms: deep thinking, open brain to solve problems, relationships (catching up with friends sometimes), knowledge gaining on e-books, my – rhymes with I as in introvert – time which is brain resting for me.
It’s free and freedom giving all at once and my favourite transport method hands down.
Stephen
Notes and Photos:
2024 End of year walking awards to myself:
Hottest walk – Las Vegas strip 41c, middle of the day, just dumb to do that
Coldest walk – New York City through Central Park “-1c, feels like -9c” according to the weather App (below)
Biggest surprise walk – Dunedin city at dusk, stunning lighting
Most sobering walk – Belfast, Northern Ireland, the peace walls and sectarian messages on buildings (below).
Most exhilarating walk – New York, anywhere but especially anywhere!
Never tire of it walk – Auckland Domain
Best walking city in New Zealand – Christchurch – a 3km loop on laneways, Victoria Square, New Regent Street. Or Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens. Flat, accessible, close, beautiful.
Best walk to a place that I’ve known for 30 years but never seen – Tom’s Restaurant (Seinfeld – below)
Wish I could walk there now – Cork, Ireland, to see my son and his family again
Walk that stopped me walking for a week – Auckland half marathon, blister special
Walk I didn’t do this year but want to – Auckland Maunga, I did Mt Eden, but a 20km loop of 4 or 5 Maunga is a great outing
Thing I can’t stop photographing on a walk – Bridges – examples this year are Auckland Harbour Bridge, pedestrian bridge across the River Clyde in Glasgow (below, with my son Thomas), Queensboro Bridge NYC (in banner), Brooklyn Bridge (below), Bridge of Remembrance in Christchurch (I see it all the time but still photograph it with different lighting), and all the lighted bridges that authorities take the trouble to have designed and keep looking cool purely for aesthetic reasons.
Photos
Use of AI
Like my friend Kris N, HI only used in words or photos (I thought I just invented “HI” as a thing, but on googling, no I haven’t)
Stephen Drain's Leadership Blog 
This post is arguably my favourite of yours of 2024! It was a lovely article but then the unexpected stats, photos and comments made this a really wonderful, uplifting blog.
I’m missing our walks desperately too, and even now think of you and I when I’m on the trails we took here in Cork.
P.s.s have you done 5 walks yet this year??
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Not quite! But feeling confident so far.
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A most interesting, informative and inspiring read. Congratulations for outstanding achievement! Love the images. Would make a great power point – including commentary!
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thanks Dad. You’re the PPTX guru for photography in our family. You can add it to the list!
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Beautifully written my friend as you’ve walked through the year inspiring all of us with your efforts, travels, photos and of course your thoughts.
Yes it is correct you have dinner tomorrow with the auditor during which we can reset the scales and look forward to another year of friendship, good health and laughs in 2025.
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