So this is my sport and I have had to invent it for me. For many reasons like lack of coordination and skill and other critical factors like health and well-being. I have had to develop my own sport where I can compete against myself. I call it urban walking. I do it with dedicated regularity, attempt an element of speed and finesse and probably walk many kilometres over the course of the average week. The general aim is for about 45 minutes to an hour about 5 times a week and I try to find circular routes and make sure they have a measure of incline and a rewarding and bountiful view. I think it must be a common sport because when I am on the promenade I find many others doing the same thing but usually in sportier attire than I.
It is a rewarding sport, the view and vistas change with the weather and the seasons and pathway travelled. I have my favourite haunts and my own little challenges along the way, do we need windswept today or are we more content to smell the flowers. Often my husband joins me in my urban wanderings and then it is more competitive, he has a slightly longer stride than I and he is always on a mission to push and exert and add a little extra challenge, sometimes it is I that lead the challenge following a day of solo exploration and I will encourage us to take a new path to add to our familiar routes. Our favourites always take in the seashore where we feel exhilarated and catch our breath as the wind blows cold and howls around our ears, we ride through our daydreams on the wings of gliding seagulls.
Rocks awash with waves
On the shoreline seagulls soar
Sweeping summer storm,
Alison Jean Hankinson.
This is for d’Verse…haibun Monday… we were asked to share on Sport so it might be a long shot but can I count urban walking as a sport?
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Hues of Hankinson 
Sounds like my kind of sport. I call it walking the dog, but as he’s a sighthound, it’s pretty high speed walking 🙂
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Lol off to google sighthound…
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More precisely, he’s a Galgo, Spanish Greyhound. They have long noses and run fast.
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What beautiful creatures…I suspect the dog walks you…..XX
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I let him off his lead as soon as we get on the grass. I’m not that keen!
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Chortle. We looked after a friends pug for a month..he had no keenness whatsoever…LOL
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I’m not sure Finbar recognizes pugs as dogs. There’s one that follows him around, snorting horribly and he can’t stand it.
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I think it is a sport. Although I aim for some forest preserves when I walk, most of the distance is urban. There is “race” walking which I don’t do. I don’t care how fast it takes me to finish the walk as long as I finish it.
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I love your haiku! I think it counts as a sport…
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If the photos are examples of the views on your walks, I might rent a golf cart and come along! I enjoyed the haibun. Beautiful haiku.
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What lovely scenery you have on your walks. Walking is so peaceful and rewarding. All of that natural beauty must give you endless inspiration for your writing. Thanks for taking me along with you!
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The sense of competition, dedicated regularity and attempting finesse are the stuff sport is made of. You’re doing that with flying colors. There is a note of triumph in the lines specially in the haiku making the piece inspiring.
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I miss walking my dog – can’t do that with cats. But a walk on the beach is the best , which is why I love the haiku!
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This, especially! ” we ride through our daydreams on the wings of gliding seagulls.”
Living smack dab in the city of Boston in a high-rise, I identify with your haibun…..although for me, it’s walking along the Charles River seeing geese and ducks rather than gulls. If we walk over to the harbor, the gulls are there. City walking…….love it!
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Oh yes, this is sport and much more… adventure! Lovely narrative, and an even better wrap-up Haiku!
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Ah, you just captured everything, the beauty and the challenge and walk itself. It’s a beautiful picture. Loved the haiku!
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I love walking my dogs for just the reasons you mention. We are lucky to live in areas that offer such areas of beauty. I am not a city person for this very reason. Nicely done.
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