Marshalltown man and his dog achieve goal of walking every city block
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Back in December, the T-R first reported that Steve Feld, a retired Alliant Energy employee who was no stranger to walking around Marshalltown due to his former occupation, had set out to trek every block of the city in partnership with his canine companion Lucy, a great dane who weighs around 120 pounds.
About eight months have passed -- 136 days were spent walking, to be exact -- but he has officially completed the journey as of July 16. East Main Street, Braeburn Lane and South 7th Avenue were the final three stops.
As there are hundreds of miles of roads within Marshalltown -- some small and barely noticeable to the residents who don't live on them (and with some private drives, which he avoided) -- it was quite an undertaking for Feld, who also still routinely runs 5Ks in his 60s. But as he put it before, he's a goal-oriented guy, and he wanted to give himself a challenge.
Using his trusty map and bringing Lucy along every step of the way, Feld would simply drive to an area he wished to walk and then knock out as much as he could each day, with the caveat that due to the expansion of companies like JBS and the growth of the YMCA/YWCA building, some roads on his map no longer exist.
"I've talked to a couple guys (who say) 'Oh yeah, I think I've done the whole town.' No. Not a chance," Feld said. "These are, like I say, long sections. Campbell Drive, I went out to that concrete place, that's 18th Avenue, and that's a long stretch. These are all long stretches. I went from the river to MCC, everything in between. The north side of town is busy. Look at all those streets. If there's a little stub, I do it. When we say we covered it, we covered it."
It all started in the northeast corner of town at the intersection of 15th Avenue and Marion Street, and Feld kept a journal of each day's progress and reflections. Lucy, who was present for the interview and let out a few pants but otherwise declined to comment, grew through the experience as well.
"She matured as we did this thing because initially, she was pulling on the leash, nervous, traffic and stuff was bothering her, but as time went on, it was amazing," Feld said. "Semis drive right by, and she don't even blink."
Walking under bridges was one task that always made Lucy nervous, especially when they crossed Highway 30 to walk the area around Marshalltown Community College. For some of the busier areas in town with faster moving traffic -- he cited Iowa Avenue West as an example -- Feld made sure to go out early in an attempt to beat the rush.
In looking back on the completion of the goal, Feld was happy for the opportunity to meet so many great people, whether they wanted to talk to him or just pet Lucy and get a picture with her.
"I think she did (have fun) because now she knows when it's time to walk in the afternoon," Feld said. "We did the fall, all of winter, spring and summer. We didn't go out in the extremes, but most of the winter is an extreme so we were out all winter."
Feld isn't one to kick up his feet and relax now that he's completed this journey, and one of his next adventures will be walking the city blocks of some of the smaller communities in Marshall County including Albion, Green Mountain, Le Grand and Liscomb.
"It was fun to have a goal and work towards that goal, and now (I'll) find a new one," he said. "The main thing was all the nice people that came out and talked to Lucy and wanted to pet her and stuff like that... She's very nice. She looks a little intimidating sometimes. I'd be intimated, but she's not. She's just a normal dog, only tall."
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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.