The Park Plaza Mall Walkers Club held its holiday party Friday morning at the Little Rock mall, celebrating a year and a half of exercise with games, prizes and, of course, walking.

About 30 older adults gathered on the first floor of the mall to play bingo, eat snacks and chat with others. Some sported Christmas-themed cardigans and sweaters as they collected prizes and began their laps around the mall. The mood was light and laid back.

Letha Osborne has been mall-walking since 2013, when she retired from the state of Arkansas.

She said she had a brain tumor in 2012 and her physical therapist at the time told her she should start walking to regain her physical strength. Osborne started walking and after retiring, began walking at Park Plaza.

Osborne, decked out in a black and gold Christmas cardigan, said she enjoys the walking environment there.

“I love it,” Osborne said. “It’s a nice, safe environment. You have your air [conditioning], you have your heat, you don’t have to worry about dogs attacking you. You have your restrooms, you get to meet people. It’s really nice.”

Osborne walks three days a week for two hours a day with a friend. “Depends on how we’re doing some days, you know, we’re getting old, so we may have a little ache or pain and we can’t go as fast as we normally do, but we try to get between five and six miles every time we come,” Osborne said.

Shae Hughes works at Park Plaza and said the walking club has existed for about a year and a half. There are about 110 members right now, she said. The club, although comprised mostly of older adults, is for people of any age. It was started to create a sense of community, Hughes said.

“We cater to seniors, because they generally have a hard time in the hot, hot heat and in the cold, cold, cold in the winter, and so this gives them a safe place to walk when it’s cold or hot,” Hughes said.

The area that surrounds Park Plaza is not very walkable or accessible. Sidewalks are cut off at random places and are close to drivers on busy roads such as Markham Street and University Avenue.

Older adults, Black and white, could be seen walking laps around each level of the mall, most dressed in workout attire. The quiet environment early in the morning made for a peaceful and predictable walk.

“They come and walk anywhere from 9 o’clock in the morning when we open the doors, until we close the doors at 8. We have them come on the weekends. We have some people that get off work and come walk. We have people that walk for rehabilitation. They walk for their heart. They walk for their diabetes. It’s just an all-around wellness program,” Hughes said.

Sage Health, which provides primary care for adults over 55 years old, had an information table at Friday’s session. Sometimes, organizations will come out to provide tools and resources for the community.

“[Mall-walking provides] great benefits for your health. It’ll help you lose weight. It gives you interaction with people, which is good for you, and it keeps your mind alert. And we have activities like this, when we play bingo,” Osborne said.

Ron McCullum briefly reminisced over his time running track at Little Rock Central High School as a student.

Although his older age impedes him from his running golden days, he still enjoys walking as fast as he can. He does six or seven laps around the mall floors, mostly on weekdays.

“It’s good for your health and heart rate,” McCullum said.

McCullum then pointed to his stomach.

“It doesn’t show, but [walking] keeps your weight down,” he said. “But I like to eat — especially during the holidays.”