In Episode 34 of the Walking for Health and Fitness Podcast, I sit down with acclaimed author, journalist, and educator Michael McColly to explore his remarkable new book:
Walking Chicago’s Coastline: A 63-Mile Journey to the Indiana Dunes.
This episode dives deep into the power of walking not just as exercise—but as a way to understand history, heal emotionally, and reconnect to the land and people around us.
Listen to Episode 34 Now
🎧 Walking Chicago’s Coastline: An Interview with Michael McColly
Who Is Michael McColly?
Author: Michael McColly
Michael McColly is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in:
The New York Times
The Chicago Tribune
The Sun Magazine
The Boston Review
Chicago Review and many others
He is the author of:
The After-Death Room: Journey into Spiritual Activism — winner of the 2006 Lambda Literary Award
Walking Chicago’s Coastline
The World Is Round
Finding A Voice in Vietnam (documentary)
Michael has also taught in:
Northwestern University’s Master’s Program in Creative Writing
Columbia College
Indiana’s State Prison System
His career spans journalism, activism, creative nonfiction, and global storytelling—always with a focus on humanity, justice, and the environments we move through.
The Story Behind a 63-Mile Urban Pilgrimage
What pushes someone to walk 63 miles across one of America’s largest cities?
For Michael, the journey began long before stepping onto the shoreline.
After returning from a long walking trip in Great Britain—where he found clarity, health, and spiritual grounding—he wasn’t ready to go back to routine life. Instead, he felt a pull to explore his own city the same way he explored the English countryside: step by step, intentionally, with curiosity.
Armed with a paper map, a backpack, and a traveler’s mindset, he set out to walk Chicago’s entire coastline and continue into Northwest Indiana.
He expected to take five days.
He finished it in two.
And the things he discovered along the way shaped the book—and this conversation.
What Walking Reveals About a City
Michael’s walk wasn’t just scenic lakefront paths. It led him into:
Industrial corridors
Abandoned factories
Polluted lands
Marshes and dunes
Rail trails
Forgotten neighborhoods
Hidden pockets of prairie
Areas shaped by environmental injustice
Walking at ground level forced him to confront and acknowledge the real story of Chicago—both its natural beauty and its history of inequality.
He saw:
Land once used for industry slowly returning to prairie
Birds thriving near steel plants
Neighborhoods devastated by decades of economic decline
Communities creating beauty in unlikely places
Environmental areas restored by grassroots groups
The strength, resilience, and creativity of everyday people
Walking turned him into a witness—and a storyteller.
Walking as Emotional, Mental, and Physical Healing
Michael opens up about living with HIV for over 30 years and how walking became essential to his emotional and physical survival.
He discovered that:
Walking reduces depression
Walking restores mental clarity
Walking stimulates creativity
Walking offers spiritual grounding
Walking reminds us we’re part of a community
Walking helps us process grief, illness, and uncertainty
Whether he was walking in Chicago, London, Great Britain, or the American West, the pattern was the same:
Walking heals. Walking reveals. Walking transforms.
A Conversation About Public Health, Civic Health, and the Health of a City
One of the most fascinating themes in Michael’s work is the idea that:
👉 Walking is a civic responsibility.
👉 Walking makes cities healthier.
When we walk:
We pay attention.
We notice what’s neglected.
We see what’s beautiful.
We connect with our neighbors.
We understand environmental realities.
We become part of the place we live.
This episode challenges listeners to treat walking as more than exercise—
but as an act of community, culture, and citizenship.
Frank’s PSA to Men: Get Your PSA Checked
In this episode, I also share part of my prostate cancer story.
If you’re a man over 45, or younger with a family history:
👉 Get your PSA levels checked. Early detection saves lives.
Going through prostate cancer treatment was the hardest experience of my life, and walking played a critical role in maintaining strength and clarity.
Now, helping men navigate prostate cancer is the most meaningful work I do.
If you—or someone you know—has received a diagnosis and wants guidance:
📩 Email me directly: Frank@walkingforhealthandfitness.com
I’ve lived it. I understand it. And I’m here to help.
Learn More About Michael McColly
🌐 Website: michaelmccolly.net
📚 Walking Chicago’s Coastline
📚 The After-Death Room
📚 Caring in Viral Times
Before You Go — Start Your Own Walking Transformation
If this episode inspires you to walk with more intention, purpose, and joy, explore my Walking Works program:
Because one simple step can change everything.
🧭 Reflection of the Week
““Perception is an act of creation. When we walk, our senses awaken and we start noticing things we’ve ignored for years.” ”
This week, I invite you to take a walk—not for steps, not for speed, not to burn calories…
but simply to notice.
Notice the small details:
• A pattern in the sidewalk you’ve stepped over a hundred times.
• A tree you’ve never truly looked at.
• A neighbor’s window or garden you’ve always rushed past.
• The sound of your own footfall when you slow your pace.
Ask yourself:
What does my environment reveal when I give it my full attention?
What does my mind create when I’m finally quiet enough to listen?
Walking opens up a different level of awareness—one that helps us see our cities, our communities, and even ourselves with a little more clarity and compassion.
This week, take one intentional walk and reflect on what came alive for you when you paid attention.
Tag me on social or email me at frank@walkingforhealthandfitness.com — I’d love to celebrate your progress.
Walk on,
Frank S. Ring
Author: Walking for Health and Fitness, Fitness Walking and Bodyweight Exercises, Walking Inspiration, Walking Logbook Journal , and Walking Works Blueprint
