Spokane senator vows to walk farther than any other legislator

OLYMPIA — Sen. Chris Marr, D-Spokane, who has sponsored legislation to require 30 minutes of daily physical activity for students in the first eight grades, is about to literally walk the talk.

The first-term senator and longtime marathoner was excited to learn of the third annual Regence BlueShield competition among legislators to walk the farthest in six weeks. To promote healthy lifestyles by all Washingtonians, the contest urged lawmakers to wear pedometers that record the number of steps they take by the March 23 deadline.

Marr, who has walked nearly 70,000 steps since the competition began Feb. 12, is taking it as a personal challenge to not just win the contest but to smash all previous records.

“If I’m going to ask kids across the state to be more active, then I ought to be able to walk the talk,” he said. “And I do a fair amount of talking, so I’d better be ready to do a lot of walking.”

Marr’s Senate Bill 5093, which passed the Senate on Wednesday and next goes to the House of Representatives, sets activity requirements for students in addition to extending health coverage to uninsured children across the state. A member of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee and a former chair of the Board of Empire Health Services and Inland Northwest Health Services, Marr well knows the link between physical activity and health.

“With the percentage of overweight or obese Washingtonians steadily rising, it’s more important than ever for people to include some physical activity in their daily schedules,” Marr said. “Walking is an easy and healthy option for people of all levels of fitness.”

If Marr is successful, his words will be backed up with hard cash. The top three winners of the legislative competition receive awards of $3,500, $2,500 and $1,500, respectively, to donate to the health program of a school in their districts.

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