If anything was going to help make the Langley Walk a success in its 50th incarnation, it was a sunny day. So the organizers of the event breathed a sigh of relief as the skies were blue and temperatures warm on Sunday as walker departed McLeod Athletic Park.

The walk kicked off at 1:30 p.m., with families, school groups, seniors and young children, cyclists and people in wheelchairs all taking their spots at the starting line.

Several walkers wore jackets with dozens of completion badges sewed onto the back.

“I started in 1970,” said Terry Peet, a Langley native who hasn’t missed a walk since.

“I always thought it was a nice way to see lots of Langley,” he said. “When you’re walking, you see more.”

With the walk about to begin, organizers said their rough count was that more than 1,400 pedometers had been given out. But with people registering right up to the last minute, the total number of walkers isn’t yet known.

About 800 gathered for last year’s walk, which started at the George Preston Recreation Centre in Brookswood.

The walk was started in 1963 by Langley Township’s first director of recreation, Pete Swensson. Members of Swensson’s family were present for today’s walk. The former recreation director had always intended the walk to be simply an excuse for the community to get together for some exercise.