MOSEYING AROUND THE MALL WINDOW-SHOPPERS KEEP FIT.Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer VALENCIA -- Walking past the food court where cinnamon buns glisten and pizza pies bubble, 76-year-old Bill Lankford stops to catch his breath. It's not the tempting treats that give him pause. Instead, he's contemplating where he should work out next. Running up and down the escalators at Westfield Valencia Town Center Westfield Valencia Town Center, formerly Valencia Town Center, is a shopping mall in Valencia, California, owned by The Westfield Group. Its anchor stores are JCPenney, Macy's, and Sears. The Robinsons-May was renamed Macy's on September 9, 2006. and walking five laps around the mall, the Saugus man has created his own personal gym at a place where most people come to shop. Lankford is one of about 220 in a mall-walking program offered by Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. Wearing free pedometers, participants track how many miles they walk there each month and can win store gift certificates for covering the most territory. ``If walking is all I do, I can't see spending money on a gym,'' Lankford said. ``Sometimes I go to Placerita Canyon after I walk here.'' Weaving past kiosks selling teeth bleaching tools and shop windows displaying T-shirts, many walkers start early in the morning before the crowds arrive to slow them down. Before 9 on most mornings, Jim MacLean, 64, and friend Ron Klein Ronald "Ron" Klein (born July 10 1957) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. Klein, a Democrat, served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996 and in the Florida Senate from 1996 till 2006, where he was the Senate minority leader. , 74, cover miles together across the mall's white-tiled floor. Active all their lives, both have survived serious medical conditions See carpal tunnel syndrome, computer vision syndrome, dry eyes and deep vein thrombosis. . ``As far as I'm concerned, I think the mall walking mall walking n. An activity in which one walks around a shopping mall for exercise. is the only reason why I'm alive today,'' said Klein, who had sextuple sex·tu·ple tr. & intr.v. sex·tu·pled, sex·tu·pling, sex·tu·ples To multiply or be multiplied by six. adj. 1. Consisting of six parts or members. 2. heart bypass surgery Bypass surgery A surgical procedure that grafts blood vessels onto arteries to reroute the blood flow around blockages in the arteries (arteriosclerosis). more than a year ago. Mall walkers gather monthly to turn in their mileage and listen to a health-related lecture, said Michael Dougherty, Newhall Memorial's behavioral health Behavioral health was first used in the 1980's to name the combination of the fields mental health and substance abuse. As an example, an organization serving both mental health and substance abuse clients might refer to its practice as behavioral health or unit community relations 1. The relationship between military and civilian communities. 2. Those public affairs programs that address issues of interest to the general public, business, academia, veterans, Service organizations, military-related associations, and other non-news media entities. representative. Walking hand in hand, Al and Doris Gandy strolled through the mall as an upbeat Everly Brothers song played overhead. Married for six years, the two met doing exactly what they were doing this day -- walking at the mall. ``No worries about the weather when you walk here,'' said Al Gandy, 90. ``Year-round, it stays exactly the same.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Above, Bill Lankford, 76, of Saugus walks several miles circling inside the Westfield Valencia Town Center mall. The mall and Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital sponsor a program of mall walking to help participants keep fit. Below left, Doris and Al Gandy of Santa Clarita walk hand in hand as they get their miles in strolling through the mall. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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