WHY ONE GEA EMPLOYEE CIRCLED THE CITY ON FOOT
‘I love the exercise, but most importantly, I love the great outdoors.’
While most folks spent Memorial Day weekend relaxing by the pool, working in the yard or hitting the road for a quick trip, Larry Polley laced up his hiking boots and walked — far.
Over the course of five days, he walked more than 100 miles, becoming the first person (at least to his knowledge) to traverse the entire “Louisville Loop” on foot.
The Louisville Loop is a trail system that will eventually encircle the city, and although it’s not yet complete, Larry was determined to reach his goal, which he accomplished over the course of five days. The avid outdoorsman typically hikes part of the Appalachian Trail twice a year, but this past Memorial Day, he opted to hike the Loop instead.
“I’m grateful for the ability to be able to walk these distances at my age,” says the 55-year-old senior tax manager at GE Appliances.
It’s an ability he does not take for granted given the physical challenges he’s seen loved ones endure: His wife has severe arthritis and is no longer able to hike with him; his 33-year-old daughter has cerebral palsy and struggles to walk.
Training to walk means 4:30 a.m. mornings
In the months before Larry embarks on a long hike, he trains by walking to work at least once a week. He wakes at 4:30 a.m. to arrive by 8 a.m. Aside from walking to work, he spends time hiking at Bernheim Forest, Jefferson Memorial Forest and Otter Creek locally, though he sometimes ventures as far as Hoosier National Forest or Red River Gorge.
Larry’s recent Louisville Loop trek was especially grueling because it required “pounding the pavement” in some unfinished stretches of the Loop, and because it was unseasonably hot. Then on day two, at around his 40th mile, Larry sustained a high-ankle sprain — but continued his journey nonetheless.
“It was a great walk, and I enjoyed talking to a lot of people from around the city,” says Larry, whose wife made a large “Louisville Loop 100 Mile Hike” sign for his backpack, which alerted others on the Loop to his excursion.
When asked why he keeps on logging mile after mile, Larry says: “I love the exercise, but most importantly, I love the great outdoors. I love the animals, the trees, the plant life, the bugs, the weather … absolutely everything about it.”