Walking for MS  

Allison Spidle and Courtney Lybarger during Courtney’ walk around the Lake.

Now that the season is here, it’s time to take the boats out on Lake Viking for sightseeing or maybe a little fishing. Going around the lake in a boat is an activity that is always a satisfying way to spend time. I know of one person; however, who recently went around the lake a different way. She walked!

I don’t know how many people have walked completely around Lake Viking, but a few weeks ago, Courtney Lybarger made the journey and she did it in four and a half hours. That’s moving right along. As it turns out, Courtney’s walk was a little warm-up practice session – part of her 18-week training plan for a longer walk. Courtney regularly participates in 50K benefit walks to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis.

Courtney is the daughter of longtime Lake Viking Association members Greg and Linda Houghton. Courtney is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and lives in Columbia. She has been on several 50K walks in Kansas City and is getting ready for an event in St. Louis on June 16. Courtney became motivated to participate in these events because her grandmother suffered from MS for 40 years.

The above picture was taken as Courtney and her longtime friend Allison Spidle began a walk around the lake on a crisp Saturday morning. Allison assured me that she wasn’t going all the way around the lake. She had a car placed, at around the 5K mark. As for me, I walked with the girls long enough to ask a few questions and then dropped out so as not to slow them down from their brisk pace.

Most of the 50K walks are two-day events involving overnight stays and meetings. In terms of physical demands this may not sound as demanding as some of the other marathons, but consider that some of the participants are the actual MS victims who are doing the walk in their wheelchairs. Courtney has become a strong advocate for these events, and her favorite part is bonding with the other people on the MS walks. In a way, these events are like the Lake Viking Polar plunge in that some participants are members of teams while others participate as individuals as Courtney does. Courtney is in the process of taking pledges for her next walk. To find more information, log onto . . . nationalmssociety.org.