# How far would you walk for something you really wanted? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281 "2008-06-18T01:22:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/1 "2008-06-18T01:22:50Z")
Using the magic of the Internet and Yahoo Maps, I figured out today that about twenty-five years ago I walked over five and half miles to get some nooky. This is a two-pronged thread. One aspect is: how lazy are you? Where’s your threshold of _wanting_ something versus the _effort_ you’ll put into obtaining it? Anecdotes welcome. It doesn’t have to be about walking. And the other, inevitable aspect is: are young people today way the hell lazier than we were? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/2 "2008-06-18T01:27:41Z")
I walk a lot anyway, so it’s hard to say. Depends on what it is. Like last weekend I decided to walk to the grocery store for a few things, it was about a 4 mile round trip. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/3 "2008-06-18T02:43:48Z")
40 miles round trip. About 25 years ago I got the opportunity to meet and hang out with Stan Lee if I could just get there. That was one hell of a walk. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/4 "2008-06-18T02:54:32Z")
_I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more just to be the man who walked 1000 miles to fall down at your door_ Well, someone was gonna do it. I’m not much of a walker these days, but give me the time and motivation and I’ll walk forever. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/5 "2008-06-18T03:43:12Z")
Oh I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more… OK, the longest I ever walked nonstop, one day, feet on the ground perpetually in motion the whole time, was 46 miles which I did back in '84 when I was a mere sprite of 25 years of age. The longest in really recent history was earlier this spring when I started my stroll at South Ferry and walked Water Street to the Bowery up to Broadway and then Broadway to the tip end of Inwood at the bridge to the Bronx. I’m 49 nowadays. With sufficient motivation I could probably walk a pretty impressive distance. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/6 "2008-06-18T03:44:21Z")
Curse you **Bosstone**! Well that will teach me to right-click and open a zillion threads in separate windows to read later… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/7 "2008-06-18T03:46:34Z")
I’d walk a mile for a Camel. Not really. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/8 "2008-06-18T04:23:05Z")
When I was 18 and had no vehicle, I went to my girlfriend’s. We were to walk to a nearby creek to go swimming. Turned out she wasn’t there, but I was told she went camping (& where she was & with whom.) So I walked 12 miles to the place hoping to meet up with the other guy. I was tired when I got there, but I was still mad. I walked up to him and punched him in the nose, then turned around and walked home. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/9 "2008-06-18T05:07:31Z")
According to Google Maps, I walked 2.3 miles one time to hang out with this gal who was really fun, and my car was in the shop. So 4.6 round trip. I walked 10 miles when I was religious in high school for a Good Friday walk. In the future, I would probably walk an hour for equivalent monetary compensation per hour. If it was a nonpriced good, it would depend on how much I wanted it. But there’s a baseline. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/10 "2008-06-18T05:31:06Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] \*I would walk 500 miles . . . Well, someone was gonna do it. [/QUOTE] :: shakes fist :: I’m too tired and tipsy to think of a specific anecdote, but I know I am pretty damn stubborn. If I want something hard enough AND I manage to keep my interest in it, then I’ll persevere. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/11 "2008-06-18T05:39:22Z")
Depends. What’s the weather like? (It was 95 today and I don’t handle heat all _that_ well.) Are my kids coming too? (They’re not going to last as long as I will.) Assuming I’m alone and the weather is nice and cool, I’ll go for quite a long way. I like walking. Obligatory anecdote: when my husband and I were first married, we visited London. There was a Tube strike, so we decided to walk from Southwark (near Elephant and Castle) to the Tower of London. After that we hit St. Paul’s, and then some other places, and by the end of the day we were in Westminster Abbey, and then we walked home. A total of 12+ miles of road, in between historical sites. A truly great day, though my feet sure hurt afterwards. I highly recommend visiting the Tower during a Tube strike, the place was practically empty and we could see everything wonderfully. When we were dating, he would walk me home from campus (about 30 minutes) and then go back to his own house in the opposite direction, about 45 minutes away. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/12 "2008-06-18T05:50:11Z")
In the interests of accuracy: my husband and I just worked out our London walk on Google maps, and it’s more like 7.5 miles. Don’t know why I remembered it as 12. Anyway since we also toured the Tower and climbed all the way up St. Paul’s and all that other stuff, it was a lot more than just the road walking. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/13 "2008-06-18T06:25:29Z")
My fiftysomething mother walked 750 km a few years ago to look at a big church, so I figure I’m pretty much beaten no matter what I say. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/14 "2008-06-18T06:47:53Z")
I walk everywhere that’s 10 kilometres or less away, and I do long-distance races. I don’t think there is a limit for me, given enough time. I’ll keep going until the world comes to an end. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/15 "2008-06-18T11:08:15Z")
[QUOTE=Obeseus] When I was 18 and had no vehicle, I went to my girlfriend’s. We were to walk to a nearby creek to go swimming. Turned out she wasn’t there, but I was told she went camping (& where she was & with whom.) So I walked 12 miles to the place hoping to meet up with the other guy. I was tired when I got there, but I was still mad. I walked up to him and punched him in the nose, then turned around and walked home. [/QUOTE] Similarly, I made a gruelling trek when I was about that age - I’d found out my girlfriend of the time had left me for my friend, and walked across to her house in ill-fitting boots, until my feet were bleeding. It made a good ‘martyr’ impact, I thought. These days I walk fair distances at quite an excessive pace, but it’s usually to get to some far off pub where I probably negate any aerobic benefits I might have gained. ---
**Author:** ![CrowJane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@CrowJane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrowJane)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/16 "2008-06-18T11:37:12Z")
I once walked half way across London in ill-fitting boots AND carrying a very heavy bag, because a man I have loved in a futile and unrequited fashion for fifteen years asked me to. I have also been known to walk ridiculous distances with my children simply to pass the time and avoid watching any more ‘Bob the Builder’. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/17 "2008-06-18T11:42:08Z")
Most I’ve walked was about 6 hours a day with a 45 pound pack. I was looking for enlightenment… ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/18 "2008-06-18T11:43:09Z")
In my twenties I walked everywhere. 10 mile round trips at a rapid pace were nothing. Once I walked 25 miles non-stop just to see a small nature reserve I found on a map. I still have very nice calves. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/19 "2008-06-18T13:10:21Z")
And here I was thinking that walking 10 miles to go to an arcade when I was 13 was a big deal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281/20 "2008-06-18T13:17:44Z")
I meant to write: Most I’ve walked was about 6 hours a day with a 45 pound pack every day for a month in Tibet. I was looking for enlightenment…well, not really. I just liked to go trekking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-would-you-walk-for-something-you-really-wanted/453281.md?page=2)