By Rachel Stevenson

I’m not an athlete. I’ve never been an athlete. In fact, if you had to pick a word to describe me, the last word that would ever come to mind is athletic.

This week I’ve spent most evenings curled up on my sofa cheering on Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, Aly Raisman, and the other incredible athletes that have graced Rio’s Olympic stage, all while sipping red wine and nibbling on dark chocolate.

Inevitably by glass two, I’m dreaming about my life as a gold medal superstar. Usually I’m mastering the pole vault, running the 100-meter sprint next to Usain Bolt, or beating Michael Phelps at the 100-meter fly.

As always, when I awake the next morning and the only gold wrapped around my neck is that of my chain, I realize that my Olympic dreams are far from reality.

Fortunately, the Olympics have offered enough inspiration to get me moving. On Tuesday, I felt so pumped that I drove to Downingtown for a brisk walk along the Struble Trail.

I found easy parking in Kardon Park, referred to as The Ponds, across from the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Green Street. As I walked from my car to the trail, with my camera in tow, a number of joggers, walkers, and bikers passed by me. More future Olympic athletes, I thought.

Made up of 40+ acres of parkland and 10+ acres of ponds, The Ponds is one of three access points to the Struble Trail and by far the prettiest. With an angel statue at its entrance symbolizing the adult female and the adolescent, a memorial stone dedicated to a deceased park superintendent, and two headstones covered in donor names, it’s easy to feel the park’s history and importance to the local community.

The lush green trees, moss-covered ponds, and native plants offered a beautiful backdrop for an afternoon walk.

The Kardon Park trail is only a half-mile long, but connects to the longer paved Struble Trail, that runs for 2.6 miles from the Borough of Downingtown northward along the east branch of the Brandywine River.

I spent an hour walking along the trail, taking photos of ducks and turtles in the ponds and birds and squirrels in the trees, and getting lost in fields of grass on the way back to my car.

When I arrived home later that day, I laughed at the notion of recognizing walking as an Olympic sport. Then I sat back on my sofa and flipped on the TV. Ooh! Synchronized swimming!

Download a map of Kardon Park and the Struble trail here.