- Bob Gunia, delivering mail in Fredericksburg, said he wears through several pairs of work-issued walking shoes each year.

Bob Gunia is one of two Fredericksburg city postal workers with walking routes in the downtown area. He says he's lost 15 pounds since he began walking nine miles a day at work. Here, he's delivering mail on Charles Street. Bob Gunia, delivering mail in Fredericksburg, said he wears through several pairs of work-issued walking shoes each year.

These postal workers are the antithesis of the lazy, overweight mail carriers portrayed on TV

Date published: 11/13/2005

By STEPHANIE TAIT

After standing for three hours sorting mail, Buddy Scaccio pushes his 100-pound mail cart onto the streets of downtown Fredericksburg. He hoofs it uphill for several blocks, dashing up and down porch stairs along the way to deliver mail.

"I generally walk about 4 hours a day," said Scaccio, 49, of Fredericksburg. "It's pretty exhausting."

His legs are getting so muscular from his daily walking that Scaccio said he's having trouble finding pants to fit over his thicker calves.

Bob Gunia, another postal worker with a walking route in Fredericksburg, said the exercise he gets on the job makes it so that he doesn't need to go to a gym.

"My blood pressure is excellent," said Gunia, 35. "My doctor loves it."

Gunia and Scaccio are walking all over the stereotype of the traditional postal worker, portrayed in such characters as beer-drinking Cliff Clavin in "Cheers" and lazy, overweight Newman in "Seinfeld." Every workday, they exceed the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended amount of exercise.

Gunia said he has lost 15 pounds since he began walking nine miles a day on his route.

"Walking nonstop every day is great," said Gunia, a postal worker for 11 years. "I can eat whatever I want, because I'll just walk it off the next day."

Scaccio and Gunia are the two Fredericksburg city postal workers with walking routes.

Scaccio, who has worked with the post office for 30 years, delivers mail to the businesses along William Street, Caroline Street and all the streets in between.

Gunia delivers mail mostly to residences between the Central Rappahannock Regional Library and the Hardee's fast food restaurant.

The extended routes wear out more than the postal workers' legs.

"I usually go through four pairs of shoes a year," Gunia said of his work shoes.

The postal service issues its employees their uniforms, and Gunia said he chooses the shoes best made for walking.

"I put slide-proof inserts into my shoes," Gunia said. "The shoes are comfortable, but walking so much can hurt your feet."

The CDC recommends 30 minutes of brisk walking five or more times a week in order to stay healthy.

Gunia and Scaccio walk four to five hours a day, five to six days a week.

Date published: 11/13/2005