80 miles in 8 days: Former Oberlin prosecutor James Walsh plans birthday fundraiser walk

OBERLIN — James Leo Walsh enjoys spending foggy mornings chasing geese and deer around while he takes his exercise. The former Oberlin city prosecutor, who also is professor emeritus of sociology at Oberlin College, can do 10 miles in his sleep, he said. Walsh will need that spryness for his 80th birthday challenge: He plans to walk a combined 80 miles in the eight days leading up to the big day on Sept. 25. The idea is "madness personified," he joked. "I made sure I told a lot of people I was going to do this so I couldn't back out." Forget birthday presents. Walsh just wants Lorain County to celebrate his 80th by making donations directly to Oberlin Community Services or any of three funds that benefit workers at Kendal at Oberlin, where he lives. Oberlin Community Services, or OCS, is a nonprofit organization that helps people in the southern part of the county who need emergency relief, including food, help with utility and rent payments, prescription medication, transportation, counseling and other services. "There are a lot of people in Oberlin who need some help with food, with housing, with quality-of-life issues," Walsh said. "OCS has a track record, and I think they are richly deserving." Walsh retired as prosecutor in 2007, and he said that during his time working with the court he became aware of how important the nonprofit is. He's also grown to have enormous respect for the work of director Margie Flood. As a resident of the Kendal retirement community, Walsh has also been impressed with what workers have done to ensure safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he said there hasn't been a single case. Three funds exist to assist Kendal workers with vacations, emergencies and educational needs, and Walsh said he wants his birthday walk to benefit them — especially the young people who work there. "We have Midview Middies and Amherst Comets and Wellington Dukes and Oberlin Phoenix. These kids are amazing and I want to help them," he said. "They work in the kitchen, on the grounds, they work as aides. There's an incredible array of college and high school kids working here." All that's left to be done is to hit the 80-mile goal. To that end, the self-described former jock has been training since November, and now logs 6 to 8miles every day. But Walsh has his work cut out. He'll have to keep a good pace, completing the distance of more than three marathons over the eight-day period. At least he doesn't have to run. "I'm a snail. I get passed up by little old ladies more often than not," he said. Luckily, there's a culture of walking at Kendal that has helped Walsh stick to his training regimen. The hardest part, he said, has been avoiding the temptation to stop and talk to others instead of social distancing. His plan is to walk around the edges of Kendal at Oberlin, which remains mostly closed to the public at large, and to frequently venture into the nearby New Russia Township Park and cemetery. Because of the pandemic, he'll avoid walking through the heart of town, where he said it would be hard to resist stopping to chat with Oberlin College students. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.