Local Fitness Trainer Leads 'Corona Walks' Around Baltimore During Pandemic
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It's bright & early - 7:30 a.m. at the corner of Sisson and 27th at the height of the pandemic. You'd think it was 4 pm, it's so loud.
An Earth Wind & Fire album is blaring while walkers pass the entrance in sweatshirts and hoodies. They've been doing this 52 weeks in a row.
Chauncey Whitehead, decked out in an all black matching jumpsuit, leads the way. He's a local fitness trainer leading the way through Druid Hill Park for "The Corona Walk."
"Set your GPS & monitors - Whatever you got," he yells out on a megaphone.
"I decided to come out here and walk because like everyone else, I was confused," he said.
Everyone was. Some still are.
"The next thing you know, a couple of people joined me and it became a mandatory Sunday relaxation walk."
Three miles. They're still here, 50 walkers deep.
"Gyms closed down. He brought the gym out here," says one of them.
"Mile 1 Shareen, let's go!" can be heard off into the distance at the beginning of the walk. But why? For unity.
"By walking, you'll get to know your neighbors. My mantra is a community that walks together talks together," he said.
A half marathon and year later, the steps aren't stopping anytime soon.
"I plan on continuing this until I can't walk anymore," Whitehead said.
Local big names are included among those walkers like Sheila Dixon and Maya Rockeymoore Cummings.