Des Plaines man, 71, walks Route 66 to promote active senior lifestyle

At 71, Emory Duick believes most people his age have a hard time getting around -- let alone staying active.

But life doesn't have to end after retirement, said the Des Plaines resident, who decided to get off his couch and walk Route 66 to prove his point.

With a pop-up camper in tow, Duick set off June 2 from Des Plaines and so far has trekked roughly 1,300 miles of the 2,448-mile stretch of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif.

His goal is to inspire and encourage senior citizens to lead a more active lifestyle.

"A lot of people, they retire and they don't know what to do with themselves," said Duick in a telephone interview from New Mexico. "They sometimes just vegetate or just drop out of life. I want to let people know there's a lot to life - that they can continue on and enjoy their life any way they want to."

Duick said he has received a heartwarming reception all along the route.

"A lot of people have been empathetic with my cause," he said. "When you get outside the big city, there's a friendliness there. There's an openness there that's genuine. Here they took it to heart."

Duick plans to walk nearly the entire distance with daughter Lauren Duick, also of Des Plaines, who took seven months off work as an occupational therapist to accompany her father. Lauren not only cheers him on, but has been Duick's navigator and driver of the support vehicle.

"She and I are very close," Duick said. "She wanted to help me and so she took the time off."

Duick said the idea of walking the historic route formed seven years ago after he traveled it a few times by car. He also was inspired by the 1960s television show "Route 66," in which two young men drove across the country.

Duick walks 10 miles a day and has 1,100 miles left to cover. He won't be able to walk every last mile of the route because Lauren has to return to work Jan. 1.

The duo have trudged through 100-degree temperatures, camped alongside recreational vehicles, and lived on Subway sandwiches and anything nutritional.

"We eat economically and we've been able to sustain ourselves that way," Duick said.

Despite having no cartilage in his left knee, Duick said he's lucky to be in good physical condition to undertake such a journey that has been a mission for several years. At 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing roughly 235 pounds, he takes vitamins and herbs each morning and eats healthy, said Lauren.

Duick served 31 months in Germany for the U.S. Army between wars and got out of the service in 1961. He started running marathons at the age of 43 to keep in shape and has finished 18 marathons to date.

Duick said the worst thing that happened to him on the walk was a sciatic nerve attack in Oklahoma City.

"I'm not hurting," he said. "I just can't push off. The power isn't there. I've worn three pairs (of sneakers) out and I'm on my fourth pair. I had blistering in the beginning but my feet have toughened up over 1,300 miles. All I can do is take it one day at a time and pray to God to help give me strength to do it."

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Lauren, who either walks or drives alongside Duick, has had a tougher time overcoming her fear of bumble bees and wasps she encounters along the course.

"I'm surviving as well as I can be," she said. "For myself, it's (about) just seeing Route 66 and seeing that my father is accomplishing his goal, not only for himself but also giving back to others in his age group. I'm just really happy that he's able to do it at 71 years old."

The journey is about to get harder for the duo who have reached the Albuquerque area.

"The toughest is yet to come because we're going to Albuquerque where there's mountains," Duick said. "When you get up to Flagstaff and Arizona, the elevations are high, 5,700 to 6,000 feet."

384512Emory Duick, 71, of Des Plaines, is walking the entire stretch of the historic Route 66 to encourage seniors to lead an active lifestyle. He is presently in the Albuquerque, N.M., area.Courtesy of Lauren Duick