Residents find new way to exercise





By Sophia Fischer
sfischer@theacorn.com

On a recent Saturday morning in Westlake Village, while others were carting their kids to soccer games, stopping at the local coffee shop for a wake-up beverage, or even lingering in bed, a group of fitness enthusiasts met to go ruking. Yes—ruking.


Ruking (pronounced roo-king) is an interval, cross-training form of exercise that combines running, walking and hiking at the exerciser’s own pace. The basic idea is to run the flat sections of a course, hike the hilly parts and jog or walk downhill.


"The key is using the change in terrain to your advantage as a way to maintain an elevated heart rate for an extended duration while not overexerting yourself," said Brendon Mulvihill. Mulvihill runs Brentwood-based Malibu Rukers, the official organization that established and promotes ruking. On this particular Saturday, a group of about 10 rukers met at 9 a.m. in the parking lot of St. Jude’s Church on Lindero Canyon Road. They started their workout by walking alongside the church, up a long steep incline bordered by beautiful homes that curved around to reward participants with a view of the hills and a downhill section of the route. At the end of the hill, the group took a left on Lindero Canyon and then another left on Triunfo Canyon Road before heading up into the rocky trails.


Among the participants were ruking veterans Kevin and Leah Warren of Westlake. They started two months ago when the Westlake group was formed. Leah, a junior high teacher at St. Jude’s, is a runner, and husband Kevin enjoys basketball but not running. Ruking is an activity they can do together.


"I like getting up into the mountains. It’s more entertaining for me than running," Kevin said. "The view of the reservoir is beautiful."


Patrice D’Amico-Bruno of Oak Park had read about ruking and was curious to see what it was about. Although it was her first time with the group, the mother of three seemed to have no problem keeping up with the experienced rukers as they hiked up one particularly long slope leading to expansive, picturesque views of the hills, the Westlake reservoir and homes.


"I usually go to the gym. This was better than the treadmill. It was so nice to be outside, and I feel like I got a good workout," D’Amico-Bruno said. "Just when you feel tired from the running part of it, you start walking."


Other rukes include a Zuma Beach route that alternates running on the sidewalk with power walking in the soft sand and a Pacific Palisades ruke that offers spectacular ocean views. All rukes are free. Mulvihill estimates there are about 150 rukers in the area, with about 10 participants on any given ruke.


The idea for ruking came from Los Angeles real estate investment broker and California Science Center Chairman Bill Chadwick, the man former Gov. Gray Davis appointed in 1999 as the state’s chief negotiator with the National Football League to try to get an NFL team back to L.A. Chadwick, a health enthusiast, found that running was becoming more challenging as he aged. He thought that a cross-training type of exercise would provide a good workout with less stress on the legs.


Chadwick teamed up with Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Stacey Williams to form the Malibu Rukers in an effort to get the word out to L.A. area residents about the new exercise. Spectrum Palisades and Malibu Fitness are two area gyms that offer organized rukes.


Mulvihill says the plan is to take ruking nationwide. A book called "The Ruking Lifestyle" and a "Ruking with Stacey Williams" video are in the works.


"It’s a great exercise that we’re hoping to popularize in an effort to get people back to the basics of exercise and fitness and away from the fad diets and get-fit-quick machines," Mulvihill said. "It’s a very approachable way to get people outside and doing cardio work."


For more information, visit www.maliburukers.com. See related photograph on page 19.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *