America, you may have noticed, has developed a case of the runs. Hardly a weekend goes by when you don’t run across at least one 5K benefiting a worthy cause. They raise awareness and they raise a lot of money. They also give millions of runners a reason to train.

But what if you’re not a runner? What if a nice, long walk is more your pace? Are there any events where you can walk for a good cause?

Truth is, most charity runs have — and embrace — walkers. The Komen Race for the Cure is an ideal marriage of easygoing and going for gold. Held in early June (June 11 this year in Raleigh), the event is a target race for spring 5K training programs, yet the vast majority of the tens of thousands of Komen participants walk. And the folks who finish at the rear of the pack after a nice walk get the same T-shirt as the podium aspirants who won’t settle for anything less than a PR.

Still, sometimes you want a walk. You want to avoid the competitive air that accompanies most 5Ks, the stampede at the front of the pack, the aid stations where the fleet-of-foot before you have left a spray of crumpled paper cups, the hard bodies who look like they train in their sleep. You want a more serene, settled, slower experience.

You want an event such as the March of Dimes March for Babies.

Perhaps because it’s not a run, the March for Babies has a lower profile. Yet there are more than 900 MFB events annually (including 31 in North Carolina) that draw 7 million participants. Since 1970, the marches have raised more than $2 billion, according to March of Dimes. Which brings us to those two good causes worth walking for.

One, the cause itself. In the case of March for Babies, funds raised go toward the March of Dimes work on behalf of babies. Just knowing you’re helping babies should be enough, but here are specific ways March money aides babies, according to the March of Dimes:

• Helped to identify a gene responsible for oral cleft, which has enabled MOD to work on ways to prevent the condition.
• Provide folic acid education to expectant mothers, reducing incidence of neural tube defects.
• Promote prenatal care, which can help prevent premature births and give babies brains the 39 weeks they need to fully develop.
• Help prevent vision problems, heart defects, lung issues in premature babies.

The second cause the March for Babies will benefit?

You.

Walking is the most popular form of exercise in the country and it’s healthy benefits are too numerous to mention. You don’t need special equipment (even shoes are optional), it doesn’t take much time (a minimum of 30 minutes a day will do it), and you can do it just about anywhere (remember how our friend Kim Feth started her triathlon training?).

If you’re not walking now, you’ve got time to build up to a 5K before the March for Babies events get going (most aren’t until mid- to late April, some aren’t until the fall). You can get tips on starting a walking program from the American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic. Peer support is helpful for a lot of folks launching an exercise program. In the case of the March for Babies, you can form a family team, a school team, a company team. (If you can’t find a team, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina would be happy to have you join theirs, which will be participating in the April 30 march in Durham.)

Start training now for a March for Babies walk and you could be ready come late October for the grandmother of all walks, the AvonWalk for Breast Cancer,  a two-day event that covers 39 miles. (The Charlotte walk is Oct. 22-23 and kicks off April 30 with a training walk and spring expo.)

So start walking. Think of all the good it could do.

* * *

Here’s a list of the 31 March of Babies walks scheduled for North Carolina this year. For more information on a specific event, go here.

Buncombe County (Asheville)
April 23
(828) 258-1234

Brunswick
May 21
(910) 452-1515

Boone
April 17
(828) 464-8905

Charlotte
April 30
(704) 377-2009

Triangle (Durham)
April 30
(919) 781-2481

Eden
April 30
(336) 723-4386

Elizabeth City
April 30
(757) 361-0000

Tri-City (Elkin)
April 16
(336) 723-4386

Fayetteville
April 16
(910) 483-3691

Macon County
October 1
(828) 258-1234

Greensboro
April 30
(336) 723-4386

Greenville
May 14
(919) 781-2481

Henderson County (Hendersonville)
September 10
(828) 258-1234

Hickory
May 14
(828) 464-8905

High Point
April 2
(336) 723-4386

Haywood County
May 7
(828) 258-1234

Laurinburg
June 4
(910) 483-3691

Lenoir
April 30
(828) 464-8905

Lumberton
May 21
(910) 483-3691

Outer Banks/Dare Cnty
May 7
(757) 361-0000

Alamance County (Mebane)
April 9
(919) 781-2481

Crystal Coast
May 7
(910) 452-1515

Mount Airy
May 14
(336) 723-4386

Salisbury
September 10
(828) 464-8905

Cleveland County (Shelby)
October 1
(704) 377-2009

Forest City
April 9
(828) 464-8905

Statesville
April 16
(828) 464-8905

Whiteville
September 24
(910) 452-1515

Wilkesboro
May 21
(828) 464-8905

New Hanover,Pender,Duplin
April 30
(910) 452-1515

Winston-Salem
April 16
(336) 723-4386