A little walk, lots of talk: Inside the world of mall walking

WINNIPEG – They’re on a mission in a mall.

But it’s not to find the perfect Christmas gift.

“Keeps my body moving,” said Heather McKenzie, who has been mall walking for the last five years. “I’m old. I want to keep it moving.”

McKenzie is one of about thirty people who parade around Kildonan Place every morning. She’s not there to shop, but to exercise.

“It’s safe, temperature controlled, no bugs during the summer, no ice during the winter,” said McKenzie.

The walk is good. The talk even better.

“I get energized,” said Pat Penuita. “Then we get together with a bunch of people, have coffee and chat. It’s fun!”

Some even take it upon themselves to fix global issues.

“The mall exercise is good but boring,” said Bob Hall. “The discussion at the table is good. We usually take a couple of world problems and solve them. The thing is though nobody listens to us.”

You can work up quite a sweat mall walking. The perimeter of Kildonan Place is about a kilometer. Most walkers will complete six laps during an hour long stroll meaning they’ll burn roughly 400 calories. Some will do that five days a week, yearlong.

“We pass every corner,” said Elsie Bartel. “We do six rounds and… phew!”

Even though the healthy hobby is pretty informal, there are a few rules you have to follow.

“Be polite,” said Claude Scott. “Tuesdays and Thursdays you go the opposite way. You just have to get up and come.”

Kildonan Place isn’t the only Winnipeg mall that welcomes walkers. Most shopping centres open up their doors early to accommodate the early morning workout.

Where?                         Doors Open                                       Info                                               Contact
Kildonan Place              Mon-Sat  7:30am           Enter via northwest entrance.          1555 Regent Ave West
Sunday   8:30am            Coat rack provided by                               204-661-6116
the food court.

Polo Park                        Mon-Sat       7am            Map with distances available            1485 Portage Avenue
Sunday        11am            online at http://www.polopark.ca                     204-784-2500

St. Vital Mall                 Mon-Sat   7:30am           Map with distances available           1225 St. Mary’s Road
Sunday        10am           at customer service.                                 204-257-4449

Grant Park                     Mon-Sat        6am                                                                             1120 Grant Avenue
Shopping Centre           Sunday          8am                                                                                 204-475-8556

Garden City                   Mon-Sat         7am           Enter via Smitty’s entrance.            2305 McPhillips Street
Shopping Centre          Sunday         10am           Coat rack provided by                              204-339-0956
the food court.

Northgate                      Mon-Sat        8am            Coat rack provided.                           1399 McPhillips Street
Shopping Centre                                                                                                                            204-339-1641

Portage Place                7 days/week  7am            Connected to downtown skywalk.    393 Portage Avenue
Shopping Centre                                                                                                                           204-925-4636

Cityplace                        7 days/week  7am            Connected to downtown skywalk.   333 St. Mary Avenue
Shopping Centre                                                                                                                           204-989-1800

Winnipeg Square         7 days/week  7am            Connected to downtown skywalk.      360 Main Street
204-949-7140