Since March 2020, a senior citizen and former Eccentric columnist has walked approximately 3000 miles through his neighborhood in Sterling. Eighty-six-year-old Richard Engberg, who wrote the Water World column for the Eccentric from 2011 through 2018, quit the gym he had been going to for several years when he and his wife, Lynne, began isolating on March 13, 2020; as a result, the Covid pandemic. "I needed to do something to keep an exercise program going where I wasn't interacting with other people," Engberg said, "So I began a daily walking program around my neighborhood of Countryside."

He started slowly, walking only a mile or two each day for the first month but as the summer of 2020 approached, he increased his walking to three and four miles a day. For Father's Day, his son gave him a pedometer in June. He calibrated the pedometer to the length of his step, which was 30 inches. The pedometer registered his step count daily, the number of miles he walked that day, and the number of calories expended. Engberg stated, "I had an app on my phone which counted steps, but it counted every step I took. The pedometer only counts the steps when I'm walking steadily."

By the summer of 2021, he was walking 8 miles a day and sometimes more. His average pace is about 3.2 miles an hour.

Countryside is a wonderful neighborhood for walking. Most of the streets have sidewalks, and the neighborhood has an abundance of paved and unpaved trails through wooded areas. Engberg's home is two miles from the Potomac River, nearly all on trails. "Walking to the river is one of my favorite walks. The area by the river where the main trail ends is very peaceful. I often only encounter one or two other people when I arrive at the river, frequently dog walkers," Engberg said.

He has walked every day since March 14, 2020. During that period, he had two minor surgeries. "I walked a mile or two in the morning before each surgery because I didn't want to miss a day," Engberg said, "And I was out walking the next day after each surgery."

He usually walks twice a day, morning and afternoon. In the summer, he walks early and walks about five miles. In the evening, Lynne usually joins him.

When asked about rain or snow days, Engberg said that if he can't get out for all his steps, he has a course in the lower level of his house where he walks. "I really dislike walking in the house. The turns are tight and the loop is only about 100 steps long. Five miles is a little over 10,000 steps for me. That's over 100 loops if I had to walk inside for the whole five miles. Boring! Usually, I'm able to get outside for some of the walk."

Good walking shoes and foot care are essential. Engberg said that he has gone through four pairs of walking shoes and usually has three pairs going at a time. "If I walk in the morning and then again in the afternoon, I always switch shoes. I've been fortunate not to have had any foot problems."

When asked how many miles he has walked, he said, "I've walked over 8 million steps which translates to an average of just over 4 miles a day or about 3,000 miles in total. I guess that is the equivalent of walking from Sterling to San Francisco and from San Francisco to Salem, Oregon, where my daughters live."

"I would never have guessed it, but the walking program is probably the best thing I could have done for a person my age. I've lost over 25 pounds and am in far better shape than I ever was while going to the gym. I recommend it highly. If I can do it, many others should be able to do it as well."

Although he lives in Sterling, Engberg has a history with Middleburg. A career hydrologist, he worked for the U.S. Geological Survey for 26 years in Nebraska and Iowa and for the Department of the Interior (DOI) in Washington, DC, for another nine years heading a national program on water quality of more than 600 DOI irrigation projects. After retiring in 1999, he went to work as Technical Director for a non-profit, the American Water Resources Association, which had just moved its national headquarters to Middleburg. "I commuted to DC for nine years. My commute to Middleburg was the same distance but so much better."

He continued, "Middleburg was a wonderful place to work – nice people, great restaurants and shops. What's more, in 2004, I met Dan Morrow, the late editor of the Eccentric. We became very close friends getting together weekly to play a game from the 1930's called Camelot or visiting Civil War sites. It was Dan who talked me into writing the water column for the Eccentric. I was devastated by his death in 2019 and miss him greatly."

While working in Middleburg, Engberg served three years (2000 - 2003) on the Loudoun County Water Resources Technical Advisory Committee. He also served four years (2012-2015) on the Middleburg Wellhead Protection Committee.

One last note, Richard loves music. During Covid, in addition to the walking, he has posted a favorite song every day on Facebook. "On April 2, I will have posted my 750th song", he said proudly. "I research them and post a short paragraph about each song and the artist. I dislike being idle and the walking and posting have allowed me to stay busy and yet be safe from Covid."