University of Colorado Boulder student Carter Snelson hoofs it through entire city

Apr. 30—University of Colorado Boulder senior Carter Snelson decided to walk every single street of Boulder — a project that took him 2 1/2 years and nearly 1,000 miles.

Along the way, Snelson set goals for mileage and steps in a single day. He's since done 25,000 steps for 12 miles, 50,000 steps for 26 miles and 70,000 steps for 38 miles in a single day. His final goal was achieved Friday night, which was to get 100,000 steps, or walk 52 miles, in one day.

With Friday's completed walk, Snelson has achieved his ultimate goal to walk every labeled street in Boulder within the city's zoning map.

"It's been a very long journey, obviously more than 75% of the time I've been at school, but I'm really proud of it, and it's something that I don't think anyone else has ever done, either," Snelson said.

Carter Snelson walks down 34th Street at Iris Avenue on Friday. Snelson made it a goal the last couple years of his time at CU to walk the entire city of Boulder. His final goal was to walk 100,000 steps, which is about 52 miles, in one day on Friday, April 28. (Cliff Grassmick ??

Snelson walks on average a 15-minute mile and can usually log 4 miles in an hour, he said. He maps out his routes using two different websites, careful not to repeat streets he's already done. He uses the websites to write down directions, since the routes are complicated and often have many turns. For his final walk Friday, Snelson said he carried what was essentially a packet of instructions so he wouldn't get lost.

Snelson said his final 52-mile, 100,000-step walk took approximately 18 hours to complete. He started at 3 a.m. and finished about 10:30 p.m. Friday. He slowed down his pace to ease stress on his knees and hips, and packed a backpack filled with food, water and socks, among other items his friends helped switch out during the day.

Snelson said finishing the walk is surreal and very emotional.

"I've seen benefits that I didn't think I would get from it, and it is way more than just walking through a city," Snelson said. "It's been a good therapy for me as well, just being able to have time to think and be by myself in my own world."

It started with boredom

Snelson began leisurely going on walks in fall 2020 out of boredom. His normal activities stopped during the pandemic, and he couldn't see people as often, so Snelson said he had to find something he enjoyed to do by himself.

Snelson then went home for winter break after the semester. During the break, Snelson's brother, Brady, showed him a map of all the runs he had done, and it amounted to be nearly every street in their hometown of Franklin, Wisconsin.

Snelson said the talk with his brother inspired him to want to do the same thing, but with walking, in Boulder.

"I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something as crazy as this," Snelson said.

Brady Snelson said he's proud of his brother for sticking with it and said he doesn't know how he can walk that much without getting bored or injured.

"I'm coming from a perspective where I would run about 50 miles a week in college, and I thought that was a lot," he said. "But I know his last walk he's trying to do is 50 miles in one day, which is insane."

Carter Snelson started walking with that goal in mind during spring 2021. He eventually got comfortable going 10 miles at a time, and decided he wanted to push himself farther. Late that spring, he went on his first big walk, which was 18 miles.

He said the walk was really hard, and he was in a lot of pain near the end. ,The recovery took weeks. While it was difficult, he also said it was "exhilarating" and "fantastic."

Despite the enjoyment he's gotten out of walking, it hasn't been easy. Carter Snelson's gone through a lot of pain with his hips, knees and feet, with concern of permanent damage. His longer walks take weeks of recovery time. To prevent pain, he said he stretches and does a lot of yoga, gets massages and uses a deep-relief oil to help with pain.

Greater self-awareness

John Rapp, a friend of Carter Snelson's from high school, said his friend's walking is not as glamorous as everyone thinks.

"If I ever call him while he's on one of his walks, he'll be like, 'Yeah, I'm in a lot of pain.'" Rapp said. "But he pushes through it because he's so strong, and everyone should know it's not easy. So what he's doing is awesome, it's crazy and something I've seen no one else do."

Carter Snelson said he has stopped midwalk because the pain was so bad, and he was worried it could turn into something long-term. He also said he's messed up his directions before and had to backtrack, and has even lost the directions because they flew out of his hand or back pocket.

He also has questioned himself about why he's walking, and said he sometimes gets lonely on his walks. He then would remind himself the walks help him clear his mind and reflect.

"It's allowed me to become closer with myself," Carter Snelson said. "As I said, all of these I'm doing by myself, so I can just think about whatever I want and talk to myself and reflect on anything that I want to. I think I've been able to understand myself better by giving myself time to do this."

He said the walks have also helped him process the loss of his dad, who died a few months ago. Brady Snelson said his brother spent quite a bit of time at home in February because of it.

"Even dealing with that, the fact that he went back to school and is finishing up that mission of walking every street is impressive and is what I'm proud of," Brady Snelson said.

Carter Snelson said it'll be hard not to be able to tell his dad he completed the walking because his dad was really proud of it.

"My dad recently passed away, and I've been dealing with that for the past few months," he said. "The walks have helped with that in general as well, just being able to have time by myself and just be in my own mind and able to reflect and think about that."

All that and bears, too

Carter Snelson's mom, Serena Stormoen, said she's seen changes in her son since he began his walks. She said it's given him time to do a lot of reflecting and "soul-searching."

"He's just really interested in everybody's story and asking questions about how people feel," Stormoen said. "You know you can't teach your kid empathy, but I think with this experience he has really empathized with other people ... and I think he's more mindful of people's lives."

Carter Snelson said his walks have given him a new perspective on the distance of things and the city itself. He said he's also seen a separation from Boulder and the university he wouldn't have seen otherwise, and seen places he wouldn't have seen without going to seek them out.

"I remember the first time that I was in far south Boulder, I was walking down the street and there was a little toddler on a scooter, and I just thought that was so cool because you wouldn't see that anywhere near the University because it's all students," he said.

"It felt a little weird, because they have no idea what I'm doing, I mean I'm just on a walk, but it's so far from the University. It was really nice, and it just felt separate from school."

He also said he's seen a few bears closer to the Flatirons on his walks that were a little too close for comfort.

Carter Snelson said through the ups and downs he continued to push himself, which caused him to grow in ways he said he likely doesn't even realize.

"It's something that I would recommend, maybe?" he said. "I don't know if I would say do this crazy thing, but like finding something that you really enjoy, because I have really, really enjoyed all of it. I'm really glad I was able to find, and have that, throughout my time here at CU."