The UW campus took center stage in the Emerald City Wanderers walk through campus and the U-District Saturday. The 10-K walk started at Mariner Square north of Gas Works Park and drew eight participants.

“We’re just saying, ‘Hey, we like to walk, let’s just go do that one,’” club coordinator Mike Nagan said. The Emerald City Wanderers are a local chapter of the American Volkssport Association (AVA), which sanctions their walk routes.

Participants may choose to become members of the AVA and receive a booklet, where each walk is recorded and stamped by the organizing club.

The club has no connection to the UW but created the UW route because the campus is “just [a] real nice place to walk”— a host to beautiful buildings, architecture and panoramic views, which attract many people from out of town, Nagan said.

According to the AVA Web site, the association promotes health, fun and fellowship by encouraging and organizing non-competitive sporting events.

“I’m 66 but feel like 46,” said Karly Johnson, a participant who attributes his well-being to walking. “I’ve done close to 40 [walks] this year and 50 last year.”

Eight people showed up to Saturday’s event. However, special event walks can draw anywhere from 300-500 participants.

“There are a lot of fair-weather walkers,” co-Vice President Dave Madsen quipped.

The Emerald City Wanderers organizes two types of walking events around the Seattle area: event walks, which are held on holiday or special weekends, and year-round walks, or routes that can be done at any time, Nagan explained.

“It’s a good way to see an area and the county,” participant Ann Jeffries said. “You can do the same walk and see something diff erent every time.

Routes are updated occasionally to prevent monotony and boredom and to accommodate road construction.

“A lot of folks do some [walks] over and over, and they begin to sleepwalk,” Madsen said.

Volkssport is for all ages. However, the one demographic noticeably absent is university students, Nagan said.

One of the most distinguishing features of Volkssport is that the sporting events are non-competitive.

Nagan explained that there is no offi cial start and fi nish like a race, nor do they keep track of time, or give awards.

“Some walkers are really competitive — we call them ‘head down walkers’,” he said.

He added that to combat the competitive impulse, routes are laid out so there is something interesting to look at.

“We do it for three reasons: walking as a matter of fi tness, [to] promote walking, and also [the] social aspect,” Nagan said. “You don’t have to join the AVA — just come walk. We’d love to have everybody.”