Have you seen large groups of women walking around Tacoma? Here’s what’s up
Tacoma Girl Walk started with a simple enough concept: a women’s walking club that meets up about once a week for a loop around Tacoma’s “most beautiful neighborhoods and waterways.”
It turns out that simple idea was pretty enticing.
At least a couple hundred women showed up for the first walk on May 2 — if you happened to be in Old Town Tacoma or by the Ruston waterfront that morning, the group was hard to miss.
The walking club was started by Sarah Turner, a Tacoma resident who also founded The Tacoma Flea last year.
“I love walking in Tacoma. I think Tacoma has some truly beautiful areas,” Turner said. “I thought [it] would be nice if I could do that with other people because I’m doing the walks anyways, so, you know, the more the merrier.”
Walking is having a bit of a moment right now. Hot Girl Walks ™ have taken over cities across the country. Hitting 10,000 steps a day has become a common fitness goal (even if that benchmark is unnecessarily high).
When it comes to Tacoma Girl Walk, the fitness aspect is secondary, Turner said. The main focus is on making connections.
“The biggest thing is just gathering and being together and being outside,” Turner said.
The first two walks have attracted a variety of women — some in their 20s and 30s, some in their 60s and 70s. Many women made the drive from places like Port Orchard and Seattle, Turner said.
Making the walks flexible is also important to Turner. People can come alone or with friends, pop in headphones or chat with others, and go as slow or as fast as they choose.
While many of the walks are around five miles, Turner said people can turn around or leave the group at any time. Some of the walks are also labeled as kid friendly, while others are respectfully child free.
So far, the walks have been Saturday mornings at 9 a.m., but some future walks will be on weekdays, with different meetup points. Schedules for the month will always be posted the month prior on Instagram, Turner said.
If walking isn’t your thing, Turner has other ways to get involved. She’s already planned a couple of ticketed events, including a group strength-training class and a private party deck at an upcoming Tacoma Rainiers game.
While those events cost money, Turner said she’s not making a profit.
“A lot of people have ideas like this, but being the facilitator is not always the easiest thing, and not everybody has the time or the resources or the reach,” Turner said. “And I just feel like, right now in my life, I do have all those things.”
She also has ideas for future events, like girls nights or other outdoor gatherings, which will be free whenever possible.
“I love the idea of just everybody meeting up in a park and bringing a snack and just hanging out,” Turner said. “It just takes a little bit of organization.”
Whatever the event, the goal is always the same: Meet new people and have a good time.
“I do really, really love seeing people come alone [to the walks], and then I see them throughout the walk making friends or chatting with someone new, because that’s not an easy thing to do,” Turner said. “To just put yourself out there — it’s very vulnerable, so I feel very proud that we’ve made this little space where people feel safe and comfortable doing that.”
