Silver Sneaker Walking Champs Ron & Lucille Kaestner

Meet Ron & Lucille Kaestner, Silver Sneaker members at the Jefferson County Family YMCA in Festus, MO. They joined the Y in January 2009 when they learned that their insurance company would pay for their membership.

Before they joined the YMCA they enjoyed their 2 children and 3 grandchildren, and had a very limited exercise program. Ron is a cancer survivor, so they wanted to do everything they could to improve their health.

When they joined the YMCA they would walk 2 miles around the indoor track then leave. They heard about the 5K Fun Run/Walk that the YMCA was sponsoring in September and decided they wanted to participate, so they slowly increased their walking routine to about 4 miles. Using a pedometer, Ron kept track of the distance while Lucille watched the clock. She said they can walk about 4 miles in about 45 minutes.

The photo above shows them crossing the finish line at the 5K walk which they easily finished under 50 minutes.

Lucille said “We really enjoyed the walk.” With the perfect weather and a good course to walk, they were 2 of 106 walkers and 126 runners that day.

The YMCA is proud of all it’s members, and Ron & Lucille are prime examples of what dedication and hard work will do for you.`

Way to go, Ron & Lucille! Keep up the good work!