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On Sunday, May 23, a group of about 100 people are expected to make their way on foot through Jersey City as part of a 50-mile walk along the East Coast Greenway, from Metropark station in Iselin to NYC’s Penn Station. “The Big Walk,” as it has been dubbed, is designed to build awareness of health and fitness, alternative transportation options, and the Greenway, the proposed nearly 3,000-mile bicycle and pedestrian route stretching from Maine to Florida.

The walk will be led by Morristown’s Paul Kiczek. He first attempted to do a 50-mile walk back in 1963, when, following President John F. Kennedy’s announcement that a 50-mile walk endurance test would be performed by U.S. servicemen to prove they were in ready military condition, the public took up the lengthy walks as a fad. (For more on the history, check out Kiczek’s The 50-Mile Hike Phenomenon: A Look Back at the New Frontier of Fitness.)

After falling short on another 50-mile attempt again last year, Kiczek thought that the walk could be more enjoyable — and easier to finish — if done collectively, and that this could help it have the added benefit of promoting personal fitness and pedestrian issues. He then teamed up with the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and they’ve put together The Big Walk.

So far, more than 60 walkers from six states have signed up; Kiczek and the Alliance expect to have about 100 when the event kicks off next weekend. The walk should take about 17 hours, but participants can choose to walk just part of the course with the group, with meeting points arranged along the trail close to rail and bus lines.

The walk begins at 5 am at Metropark Station, and is expected to come through Jersey City — from Lincoln Park to Exchange Place — in the late afternoon (between 5:30 and 7:30 pm). There’s no charge for the walk, and registration is currently open on the web.