West Seattle's Gabriel Marquez is an unusual man when it comes to his exercise routine. He walks. Okay, not that unusual. More than a mile. A lot of people do that. But Marquez does it in the waters of Puget Sound about once a week traveling from approximately a mile north of the Fauntleroy Ferry dock to the south end of Lincoln Park. He emerges and then runs, back north to his car and some warm, dry clothes.

Marquez said he used to do it, "all the time when I was a kid," but has only returned to the routine for about the past year.

According to the website Livestrong.com, "Water-walking or jogging burns 563 calories per hour if you weigh 155 pounds, and 654 calories an hour if you weigh 180 pounds."

That means it's very effective exercise and Marquez is obviously very fit. Why does he choose to walk and not swim? "I'm not a very good swimmer," he said laughing.

The walk takes him around 40 minutes, though he said his time right now is about 37 minutes. To make the soggy trek he wears a T-shirt, shorts and special nylon footgear that strap on with velcro, made for walking on rough underwater surfaces like rocks and coral.

Marquez is apparently very environmentally conscious too. When he emerged from the water he was a little anxious and despite the fact that kids in swimming pools have been doing it for years said, " I gotta pee," meaning he didn't want to pollute.

What a guy.

Hat tip to our friend Steve Shelton for spotting this. If you have a news tip for us please send it to WestSeattle@robinsonnews.com or via twitter @westseattleher