Lake View’s marathon man

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my modest fitness goal of walking at least two miles a day, most of it going to and from work.

I received a lot of response from that column, including from Dr. Jon Quinn, a retired anesthesiologist who lives in Lake View. The Sac County native and reader of the Times Pilot worked in a Des Moines hospital when he decided to return to his hometown a decade ago.

He has me beat by a long shot.

Every day for over six years, rain or shine, wind or snow, the 60-year-old has walked around Black Hawk Lake. Starting out early every morning, it takes him about two hours to complete the seven mile journey, depending on the weather. On several occasions he’s had to seek shelter from lightning, and “snappy” east winds have slowed him down, but he soldiers on. He’s walked in January when the temperature dipped to as low as -16 degrees.

In 2019, when the Lake View Resort asked what motivated his passion to walk around the lake, he told the newspaper, “It’s a beautiful town and lake.There are different residential areas to view. My favorite parks are on the south side. Walking the sidewalks by the lakeshore, you get to see nature, the seasons, birds, ice, leaves, etc.

“There are many benefits,” he continued. “Getting outside, exercise, keeping a good book going, collecting your thoughts.”

Quinn says the keys to achieving this goal are knowing how to dress and being in good shape.

“You need to be vigilant,” he said.”I could have been stopped by illness or injury, extreme weather, being called out of town.”

His favorite days are the “foggy, misty, umbrella, sweats and shorts weather days.”

Quinn has taken other long walks. In March 2013 he completed the Camino de Santiago, a renowned 530-mile pilgrimage across Spain to the shrine holding the relics of St. James. (Martin Sheen starred in a 2010 movie dramatizing this famed pilgrimage, “The Way.” The movie was directed by Sheen’s son, Emilio Estevez.) While the average time to complete the pilgrimage is about 32 days, Quinn completed his journey in 26 days while experiencing all kinds of weather, including a blizzard in the mountains.

“I’m a simple-living bachelor,” Quinn says of his regimen. Over the years he’s racked up nearly 15,000 miles walking around Black Hawk Lake.

I don’t think I’m up to walking the 11 miles around Storm Lake all in one shot, but I’ll keep working on it two miles at a time. Happy trails to Jon Quinn.