Those landmark birthdays that end in "0" are worth more than one day of celebration. When Ross Hinshaw hit the big 6-0, he figured why not have a birth-week. Heck, maybe a birth month.
To mark his 60th, Hinshaw didn't huff and puff blowing out candles on a cake. Instead, he set out on a three-day journey to walk and run all 37 miles of the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway in three consecutive days.
Razorback Greenway
The Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway is a primarily off-road hard-surface path of 37 miles between Walker Park in south Fayetteville and Lake Bella Vista. Cycling, skating, running and walking are popular activities.
The Greenway passes through downtown sections, urban areas, rural and forested sections, often along streams.
INFORMATION www.nwatrails.org.
— Staff Report
Hinshaw, of Springdale, looked at the trip as a birthday present to himself. He set out at dawn on Aug. 13, walking and running north for 13 miles starting at mile marker zero in south Fayetteville. He did another 13 miles the next day, and finished with an 11-mile jaunt to complete his adventure at Lake Bella Vista.
"Wogging" is what Hinshaw calls his technique of walking a bit, then running a spell. He completed his three-day birthday present with help from family and friends who dropped him off and picked him up. Some joined Hinshaw on parts of the Greenway. They included his sister, Dawn, son Waylon and mom Betty.
He'd always been shy about telling his age, but Hinshaw changed his tune at 60.
"Now I've just embraced my 60th. It's something to celebrate, not be ashamed of."
Hinshaw, a certified nursing assistant, didn't set out on a lark. Planning and preparation preceded the trip. Hinshaw spent days studying the route. He even made his own map of the Razorback Greenway. It's a work of art that looks like it was drawn by a professional cartographer. Hinshaw hid caches of food and drink along the route.
His steady pace got him through the first day on Aug. 13, a warm Sunday. He felt all 13 miles when he finished. His legs were killing him.
"A friend at church, William Hawn, saved the event by giving me the best leg massage I've ever had. He told me to drink plenty of water to flush my system and that I'd be fine," Hinshaw said. "I did and I had fresh legs on Monday, with little pain on Tuesday. Without that massage I wouldn't have finished."
Hinshaw's buddy, Les Garrett, did 10 miles with Hinshaw without even training for it. Garrett loves to ride bikes, which likely helped. The two enjoyed seeing the Greenway sights, including what Hinshaw calls "The Great Wall of Lowell," a retaining wall that rises high above the trail near Goad Springs Road.
The three-day, 37-mile trek may have been easy for Hinshaw 25 years ago. He was a marathon runner who completed two Pikes Peak marathons. A basketball injury led to knee surgery and put an end to his running.
Then, not long ago, Hinshaw started drinking too much and couldn't shake it, he said. He got involved with the faith-based "Celebrate Recovery" program and replaced alcohol with exercise.
Day three of his trek unfolded on a tide of emotion.
"When I passed through the Bentonville square, I got all choked up. I knew I was going to finish," Hinshaw said.
As he ran and walked, he reflected on his improved life and his renewed love of exercise.
"Without the good Lord and Celebrate Recovery, I wouldn't have been in the mindset to do this," said Hinshaw, who attends Springdale Adventist Fellowship church.
His total time on the Greenway was 10 hours, 35 minutes, Hinshaw said. He started each day around 6:30 a.m. and finished by 10 a.m.
A fitting, and fitness, way to usher in the big 6-0.
Sports on 09/10/2015