My New Year’s resolution for 2025 was to get back in shape, but I didn’t know what that journey would look like.

I decided to keep it simple.

Move more. Eat better.

I’ll leave the dietary piece for another time. Today’s is about moving.

I relied on my iPhone’s built-in fitness app to monitor my movement. It tracks number of steps taken, distance traveled, flights of stairs climbed and calories burned using the phone’s sensors. 

Progress is tracked and displayed in a convenient move ring. My goal was to close the ring every day in 2025.

Mission accomplished.

According to the app, I walked 8.66 miles per day in 2025. That equates to 3,160.9 miles — further than Mansfield to Los Angeles.

I took 16,140 steps a day — or 5,891,100 steps during the year.

Here’s what I learned along the way:

Embrace the Grind

When I was a reporter at another outlet here in town I had the opportunity to interview a long-distance hiker named Jennifer Pharr Davis. She had recently broken the record for the fastest known time hiking the Appalachian Trail (46 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes).

We were hiking at Mohican State Park and she told me something that has stuck with me ever since. She said everyone would hike the Appalachian Trail from start to finish if it was sunny and 65 every day.

It’s not.

During my wellness journey I walked in rain and snow and, late last month, a wintry mix that froze to my sunglasses on contact. 

I walked in sub-freezing temperatures and I walked when the mercury climbed into the 90s.

The fitness app doesn’t care how hot or cold it is. It only cares if the ring is closed.

There are times you’re going to be uncomfortable. Lean into it.

Mix It Up

Most of my miles were logged in the Ranchwood and Woodlands neighborhoods in Mansfield.

When you’re walking the same routes over and over, it can get tedious. 

The good news is there are plenty of alternatives close to home.

I spent a fair amount of time on the Richland B&O Bike Trail. The new connector trail allowed me easy access without having to drive and park.

I’ve always preferred hiking in the woods to trudging through the neighborhood. Dirt trails are easier on my balky knees and irritable ankles than asphalt. 

You can’t beat the views on the Stoller Road Trail along the banks of the Clear Fork Reservoir. Gorman Nature Center offers a network of easily navigable trails, as does Malabar Farm.

Mohican State Park is the crown jewel of outdoor recreation in north central Ohio. There are miles and miles of trails to wander along.

There’s no better way to break up the monotony than by exploring a new location.

Hidden Steps

There was a time when I was a parking lot shark, circling until I found a spot closest to the entry of whatever store I was visiting.

Those days are long gone.

When I go to the grocery store, I deliberately park in the spot furthest from the door. Once inside, I meander through the aisles.

If I’m golfing with friends, I’ll walk up the fairway (on the rare occasion when I hit the fairway) instead of jumping back in the cart.

I call them hidden steps and they add up over the course of a day and a year.

Not a Fad

The failure rate for New Year’s resolutions is somewhere between 80 and 90 percent. Statistics show that resolutions are abandoned within the first month more than 40 percent of the time.

So I approached my goal differently.

It wasn’t so much a resolution as it was a lifestyle change.

I would walk or jog for no less than 90 minutes every day and it was non-negotiable. If that meant getting up at sunrise during the summer to beat the heat, then that’s what I did. 

The lack of daylight during the winter months was especially challenging. I invested in reflective clothing and a powerful flashlight.

If you make it part of your daily routine, then it’s a lot easier to see it through.

How’s It Going?

I figured since I made it through all of 2025, why not keep closing the ring in 2026? 

The early returns have been favorable.

So far this year I’m averaging 12.5 miles a day. At that pace I could walk to L.A. and back before the ball drops next Dec. 31.

Advice

If I have any advice for someone else looking to get fit in the new year, it’s this: Don’t be afraid to fail. 

My streak will come to an end sooner or later. Until then you can find me on a footpath or trail near you.