Our visit to Cambridge, MA was noticeable for what it was lacking. Let me be upfront in saying that Cambridge is a walking town. As a result, there is an abundance of people strolling the streets and campus of Harvard University. Due to congestion and lack of available parking, walking and biking are the preferred means of transportation. That being said, we were amazed at the lack of physical activity and exercise in Cambridge. During our visit (which lasted several hours) we saw a total of three people running or jogging. The attached picture highlights the only recreational sporting activity we saw during our visit. While we saw many people biking, this activity was largely transportation related, and we saw no one biking purely for the sake of exercise or as a way to enjoy the city.

This visit contrasts with every other destination of the Get Up! Get Out! Get Active! Campaign. Whether we visited a college town (Evanston, IL), or a beach town (LA), or a major city (Chicago and NYC), we always found an abundance of people partaking in exercise and physical activity to keep in shape. We understand that Cambridge is full of intelligent people who are bent on changing the world, but allow us to pose the question, What is the point of exercising your brain if your not going to exercise your body?