Walking toward wellness: How GirlTrek builds sisterhood and health for Black women

We Outside
We Outside is an original series from WYSO’s Eichelberger Center for Community Voices that amplifies the voices of people of color in outdoor spaces. Hosted by Trae Grace, the series celebrates the healing and empowerment that nature offers diverse communities.

Walking toward wellness: How GirlTrek builds sisterhood and health for Black women

WYSO |
By
Trae Grace
Published July 29, 2026 at 6:18 AM EDT

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GirlTrek is a global movement that uses walking to support Black women’s health, healing and connection

I drove to Columbus on a warm, windy spring morning to join the group for its Sisterhood Saturday walk. I also spoke with Columbus crew leader Renee Smith

“Black women suffer disproportionately from things like high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity,” Smith said. “Our impact has shown that a lot of people have lost weight and reduced their incidence of depression, so we use walking as a tool. We gather as a sisterhood on Saturdays to support and encourage one another and hold each other accountable.”

You can feel that sisterhood right away, with women showing up for themselves and each other

I spoke with Tessie Johnson, a longtime GirlTrekker

“We’re walking, and people are slowing down, and people are speaking up, and everybody’s making sure nobody’s alone,” Johnson said. “Sometimes you need that walk by yourself. But sometimes you need to know that there are people who won’t leave you, to remind you, ‘Hey, you have community.’ Sometimes you just have to lean on it.”

The movement is rooted in reaching health goals, but it’s also about feeling good

“It feels like a warm hug. At GirlTrek, we are pursuing joy,” Smith said.”A lot of people live in isolation, and so when we come together on Saturdays, I can best say that most people in the group look forward to Saturdays.”

GirlTrek is growing

“They had a goal of growing membership to more than 1 million people,” Smith said. “It was widely thought that we could not reach that goal, but guess what? We’ve not only reached that goal, but we’ve exceeded it because GirlTrek now has a membership of 1.3 million women, nationally and internationally, and we’re continuing to grow.”

She said the capstone goal of GirlTrek is to increase the life expectancy of Black women by 10 years in 10 years

“We’re doing this through weekly group walks and encouraging all of our women to walk a minimum of 30 minutes, five days a week,” Smith said

Amazing goals

For me, this wasn’t just a visit. I came here to learn, because we officially started a GirlTrek crew here in Dayton. You can download the GirlTREK app to learn more and find local walks, including the latest information on the Dayton chapter

I asked Renee for some advice on getting our Dayton-area crew started

“I would say just get started. Even if you have two people who come out to Sisterhood Saturday walks, don’t get discouraged. The chemistry of the group will make for automatic growth,” Smith said

That’s the invitation

You don’t have to wait for the perfect group to begin. You can start with a walk by yourself, with a friend or with a crew. Just start walking. I’ll see you out there

We Outside is made possible with support fromFive Rivers MetroParksand produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO