ABOVE: Gary Coombes and Lyn Sandersfeld spend their Thursday morning getting steps in at Five Lakes Centre Mall.

FAIRMONT – During the cold winter months, some have turned to indoor walking to stay active.

Ever since Dahmon Gullord started working at Five Lakes Centre Mall as a Radio Shack employee in 2001, he remembers mall walkers. Nowadays, he said there are two common times people come to walk.

“It’s really busy in the morning and at the lunch break,” Gullord said. “We got a good group of people that come in.”

As for what has made the mall such a popular place to walk in the winter, Gullord said there are several factors.

“We’re heated,” he said. “We have a long distance they can go up and down all the aisles and everything. There’s a map here that has the length if you don’t have a pedometer.”

There are two mall walking maps in Durham’s Sporting Goods entrance hallway and by the post office that tell walkers how many mall laps add up to one and two miles. Mayo brought these in as part of their Mayo Mile campaign, which started in Feb. 2019.

“We were approached by Mayo and asked if we’d be interested in doing the Mayo mile,” Gullord said. “They had us measure everything out. We gave them a floor plan, and they made some posters so when people came they knew what they were doing.”

Gullord said around 50 to 60 people come to the mall on a regular basis. With that much foot traffic, he said it’s become an inadvertent security measure.

“We have people walking and when something goofy happens, I get a phone call right away,” Gullord said. “It’s nice from the mall manager side.”

It’s also beneficial from a business perspective.

“Mall walkers are athletic, trying to stay healthy,” Gullord said. “Dunham’s sells a lot of products in that field.”

The Five Lakes Centre mall is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The mall is not the only option in Fairmont for getting your steps in. Fairmont Community Education and Recreation (CER) hosts indoor walking at the Elementary and High School Monday through Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. on all school days.

CER Director Stephanie Busiahn said they average around 10 to 12 people signed up per year, but several others attend without signing up. She said they would prefer sign-ups for numbers purposes, but it is not required.

Having the choice between both buildings presents unique pros for each. CER Facilities Scheduler and indoor walker Kris Seifert said the elementary has more flat paths, making it easier for those who don’t want to deal with stairs. For those who want to work on inclines and appreciate an extra challenge, the high school provides that.

“At the elementary, you’re also dealing with all the activities that go on the gym,” Seifert said. “There’s a lot of people around. Sometimes you got to work around these kids standing in the hallway. At the high school, all the athletic stuff is in the gym. It’s away from the classroom area, so it’s pretty quiet where they walk.”

Like the mall, having walkers also provides a fresh set of eyes on the school buildings.

“They see things and let us know if something isn’t right or normal.”

Moving forward, Busiahn said she would like to see the program grow in terms of registration numbers.

“We certainly can increase participation numbers,” she said. “Anytime we get people in our buildings, it is a win.”

Walking in the mall and school buildings is free and open during posted times. For more information on the CER walking program and to sign up, call 507-235-3141 or visit https://www.fairmont.k12.mn.us/o/cer