Spotlight on Arlington Walkers Rick Barry and Linda Cox
Longtime Arlington walkers (and one-time runners) Rick Barry and Linda Cox are inspiring others to hit the track by recognizing a fellow Arlington walker who inspired them for decades. Arlington residents for more than 40 years, this husband and wife team are the primary reason why the new Yorktown High School Track at Greenbrier Park will be dedicated in honor of Roger Reeder, the walker who inspired them. The dedication ceremony will take place on the morning of Saturday, September 15.
Rick and Linda first came to Arlington in 1960, when he was a Naval Officer at the Pentagon. In 1966, they bought a home in the Williamsburg neighborhood; raised four boys and one girl (all of whom attended Nottingham Elementary School, Williamsburg Middle School and Yorktown High School); and became active as volunteers in their civic associations and on boards and committees in Arlington over the years.
Rick, now a semi-retired home-based consultant, worked in Information Services with the World Bank. After a successful career in health care, Linda recently retired from her position as head nurse in the Chemical Dependency Unit with the Fairfax Hospital System.
Despite their busy home and work schedules, Rick and Linda managed to maintain rigorous running and walking regimens over the years, usually at the Yorktown High School Track at Greenbrier Park. Suffice to say that Rick's training prepared him to climb Mount Kiliminjaro in 1978 and Linda's routine helped her run two U.S. Marine Corps Marathons, in 1984 and 1985.
While training at the Yorktown Track/Greenbrier Park facility, the couple met another dedicated Arlington runner and walker, Roger Reeder. Roger and his wife Rosemary had come to this Arlington neighborhood in 1962, just a few years before Rick and Linda. Roger became a high school English teacher and together, he and Rosemary raised six children.
From the beginning, Roger ran on the Yorktown Track every day while his wife walked. In later years after Rosemary passed away, Roger continued the routine, walking by himself every day at 6:00 a.m. He soon became the core of a cadre of regular track users and would greet other walkers and runners, including Rick and Linda, every morning by name!
Through his dedication and positive presence, Roger inspired others. According to Rick, "if we felt a bit too lazy to get up early and do our track routine, or if the weather was not very good, we reminded ourselves that Roger would surely be there. If he could make it, why couldn't we?"
Roger also personified the many Arlingtonians who maintain their fitness routines through unscheduled, individual exercising at Arlington public facilities. These users may not be organized as a group, but they, like Rick and Linda, are dedicated users of Arlington County's many recreational facilities.
In late June 2004, Roger took ill, and according to Rick and Linda, "it was the first time we could remember that he was not at the track every day." They and other walkers realized how much they missed Roger and what a force he had been in their lives.
When Roger passed away several months later at the age of 92, the group of walkers and runners who had come to know him wanted to recognize the importance of his life, his contributions to the community, and his belief in the importance of daily exercise and access to facilities that enable Arlingtonians to connect while staying fit.
Rick, Linda, and their friend Jerry Williams decided to create a petition to memorialize Roger by having the new Yorktown Track facility dedicated in his name. The petition was signed by 200 people, submitted in July 2004, approved by the Park & Recreation Commission in 2006, and approved by the County Board in 2007.
Rick, Linda, and Jerry then set about the task of raising money for a plaque. They wrote the text, located appropriate photos from Roger's family to create an image, hired Arlington-based SOWA Printing & Graphics artists Toni Oliveria to design the plaque and selected Dan Kain Trophies to obtain the bronze casting. The plaque has already been installed and will be dedicated at the ceremony on September 15.
When asked how Roger might react if he knew about the recognition, Rick and Linda agreed that he would have been very surprised, honored, and thrilled to be remembered this way.
Throughout the process, Rick and Linda have continued their daily walking routine, albeit on neighborhood sidewalks while the track was being redone. When asked what makes Arlington so walkable, the two cited:
- availability of sidewalks;
- a County Board and staff interested in enabling walking in the County;
- accessibility to facilities at all times of day and evening, good lighting, a safe environment, and proximity to exercise stations; and
- communities of dedicated regular users.
Rick and Linda added that, regardless of the conditions, they walk for physical, mental and spiritual health; time to chat with each other and other track users; fresh air; and to watch the changing seasons.
At the end of the day (or at 6 in the morning), Rick and Linda's efforts to recognize the man who inspired them, Roger Reeder, combined with their active lifestyle (walking 3-4 miles/day, 6-7 days/week) and advocacy for access to facilities that support that lifestyle, will undoubtedly inspire others to walk the walk, on and off the track!
