Oakdale man puts miles on his walking shoes

Burchett has run up just 6,277 miles on the Cruiser's odometer.

In those same six years, he has gone through about 20 pairs of walking shoes and run up more than 12,000 miles on his feet.

Burchett, 73, is a fixture in his northwest Oakdale neighborhood. He walks three or four times a day, about two miles each time.

And these aren't slow jaunts. Burchett, who has a lean build and stands nearly 6 feet tall, keeps a brisk pace, completing two miles in about 27 minutes. Of course, that's when he's not stopping to say hello to someone.

Burchett seems to know everyone, and they know him. He's a one-man Neighborhood Watch and one-man Welcome Wagon.

"He stops and visits and he stops and mingles with everyone," said Sid Lieb, who has known Burchett for more than 30 years.

Pam Neronha, 52, met Burchett about six years ago while she was gardening and he was walking. He stopped and struck up a conversation. The two became fast friends.

She said he's inspiring because he loves walking and he's taking care of his health. He's reassuring because he's the neighborhood's unofficial caretaker.

"He loves what he does and that rubs off on the people he meets," she said. "And we live in a world where we get in our cars and we drive. He brings back the old days. I may talk to Buck six times a year, but I know he's always there."

Burchett didn't take up walking to lose weight. Instead, he started in 1983 as a way to heal his sore knees. He sold cable TV services as a door-to-door salesman. While the job involved a lot of time on his feet, it was not sustained walking.

So Burchett, who then lived in Riverbank with his wife and kids, began walking, and his knees stopped hurting. He started with a half-mile and eventually was walking five miles in an hour.

Burchett, who is divorced and retired, moved to Oakdale in 1998. He figures he walks 330 to 345 days a year. He doesn't walk when he's visiting family or during winter storms.

He also walks to do his errands. But Burchett uses his car to shop for groceries and to buy his walking shoes at the Big 5 Sporting Goods on F Street.

Burchett said he can't wait to get his first walk in each morning. He said walking just makes him feel good. And as a Christian, he said it gives him time to pray.

He eats healthy but is not a fanatic, drinking in moderation and eating a small piece of dark chocolate in the evening. But he doesn't drink soda, even diet soda, and stays away from fast food.

His advice to others is to try walking for just a week. He said that's all it will take for them to get hooked and start feeling better. Burchett has no plans to slow down.

"I'm walking until I can't walk anymore," he said. "It just makes me feel good. The biggest thing I get out of walking is to talk with people and try to show my love for them. I just enjoy seeing people."