LANSING, Mich. — Every day, two friends lace up their shoes and walk side by side. They’ve been doing it since March 15, 2020. They have never missed a day. Most days they can be found right here on the Lansing River Trail.
What started during the uncertainty of the pandemic slowly became something much bigger than just a walk.
It became a routine, accountability, and friendship for Cherry Hamrick and Mark Buzzitta.
Mark says, “It's based on work schedules and things like that. So sometimes, you know, maybe I have a meeting or something and I can't get there till later in the afternoon, but at the same time, you know, hey, this weekend, we're both free Saturday morning, so we could do a longer walk.”
“And when you walk every day for years,” Mark adds, “you learn the trail pretty well.”
“The Ingham County trails are great. We can meet in a lot of different places. We could start by Potter Park Zoo. We could start over at Hawk Island. We could even start in Old Town.”
In fact, the Lansing River Trail has a way of surprising people, even those who think they already know it. Kip Bohne is the president of the Friends of the Lansing River Trail.
“I think discovery is one of the best things about this whole trail system. I was riding my bike and saw part of this area that I had never, ever seen before, and it was so beautiful. I thought, does this keep going? And so I kept going and finding new discoveries. And I think that's the best thing about it.”
Mark and Cherry discovered something else on this trail too.
Consistency.
“There's no real reason to stop. It's obviously good exercise, and it's fun. It's outside. There's no downside to it.”
Cherry agrees.
“Neither of us have ever been sick enough that we couldn't manage to get out. I buy a lot more running shoes than I used to and put in more miles between running and walking.”
Mark adds, “I wear a coat when I have to, if it's really, really cold, but yes, definitely new shoes every few months. That goes with the territory, and that's okay with me.”
Their walks have also turned into something else.
Looking out for the trail itself.
“Working with the county parks department, we came up with graffiti kits to clean signs,” Cherry says. “This has already been cleaned once, but then somebody got it again. So we have these little backpacks with graffiti wipes, Goo Gone, and gloves, and we come out when we find a sign. Mark and I are on the trails a lot, so we see a lot of signs.”
Kip thinks Mark and Cherry are great representatives of the trails.
“Mark and Cherry are good neighbors because they are goodwill ambassadors for the trail. They kind of set the tone for all the things that you can do on the trail system. They have been so great about talking about it with people. That's part of our mission.”
We met Mark and Cherry out here on the trail last fall, and as March 2026 rolls around, their streak is still going. At their last count, they’ve walked a total of 7,470 miles.
Every day.
No matter the weather. No matter the schedule.
Just two friends walking side by side.
Proof that sometimes the best journeys…
Start with just one step.
And a friend willing to take it with you.
Mark Buzzitta and Cherry Hamrick, congratulations, you are this week's Good Neighbors.
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