The first thing Merle Dyer does after taking his wife to work is head to the Maine Mall. Dyer spends a couple hours at the South Portland mall daily, but he is not there to shop.

Dyer exercises at the enclosed shopping center – walking up to 5 miles a day through the wide mall corridors hours before the first stores open for business. He walks the mall’s perimeter, from J.C. Penney to Best Buy and from Sears to Macy’s.

“I’m here every day of the week except for Sundays,” said Dyer, who credits the exercise program for improving his health since he suffered an aneurysm six years ago.

Dyer is hardly alone. The 71-year-old retiree is joined by dozens of other people from Greater Portland, who opt to take their morning walks in the brightly lit and heated mall, rather than risk the perils of icy pavement and crossing streets outside.

Mall walks have been especially welcomed this winter, as Mainers endured record snowfalls and frigid temperatures.

Although people have used the Maine Mall to exercise since it opened more than 35 years ago, mall officials and Mercy Hospital only recently partnered to promote mall walking as a safe and convenient way for older adults to get a cardio workout year-round.

Dubbed the Pacesetters, the free club was organized by Mercy in 2007 for mall walkers to join. Benefits include free monthly breakfasts, information on health and health screenings – all offered in the early morning hours at the mall.

The mall unlocks its doors between 6 and 6:30 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. Doors open between 11 and 11:30 a.m. on Sundays.

The pedestrian traffic benefits the mall. Walkers – most of them seniors – feel welcome at the shopping center and are likely to return to make purchases.

Mall manager John Geddis says that the Pacesetters program helps the mall build a sense of community with the public.

Geddis noted the benefits of getting a workout in the “climate-controlled environment” of the mall. “It makes walking accessible all year long,” he said.

Piped-in music plays as people walk alone or in twos and threes along the deserted pathways, passing locked stores and kiosks covered in burlap. Security staff patrol the mall indoors and outside.

On March 12, Mercy Pacesetters celebrated its first anniversary in hosting the mall-walking program. Participants received free pedometers and the hospital provided a demonstration on a fitness walking technique called Nordic walking.

“The majority of our members are 50 and older,” said Diane Atwood, hospital spokeswoman.

The oldest participant is Blanche Cook of Scarborough, who is 106 and arrives with her 78-year-old daughter.

“I don’t know what I would have done without it,” said Cook, about the opportunity to walk indoors.

Although she uses a cane and frequently sits in the food court, Cook looks forward to visiting other mall walkers she has met over the years.

As members of the Pacesetters, she and other participants get to have their blood pressure and pulse checked free each month. They also hear special guest speakers at monthly breakfasts.

The next breakfast is April 2 at 7:30 a.m., when an elder care attorney will talk about advance-care directives. Some of the more popular talks have been on cancer prevention, understanding heart health and learning ways to prevent falls.

“I’ve made a lot of friends and I take part in the health checks,” said Dyer, who suffers from emphysema and asthma. “The Mercy people have been real helpful.”

In 2002, Dyer decided to try taking walks at the mall after he suffered an aneurysm in his stomach that required surgery.

“A lot of people thought I wouldn’t walk again, but I did,” Dyer said.

“My wife and kids said I had so many tubes in me after the surgery,” he recalled. “I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. I used a cane to try to walk.”

After walking some in his neighborhood, he tried going to the mall for exercise. Dyer said he can set his own pace and sit down as needed. He’s never alone, even when it’s early in the morning.

Dyer has stuck with the activity. He is fit and trim, walking at a brisk pace. Today he can walk the mall perimeter – which is a mile – five or six times.

“I still go to my heart doctor and my cholesterol is high,” Dyer said. “The exercise keeps me going. If I didn’t go to the mall, it would be hard to get out, especially in the winter. I’m a pretty lucky guy to do what I’m doing.”

On a recent weekday morning, several mall walkers gathered at a table in the food court, shortly after 7 a.m. Most already had finished their walks and were chatting before heading home or to get coffee at Tim Hortons.

Clyde and Jeannette Taylor of Scarborough had been using a treadmill at home until they decided to try the mall once when it was too cold outside to walk. That was seven or eight years ago.

“There’s a lot of traffic where we live,” said Clyde.

“Plus we get to see our friends here,” added Jeannette.

Harold Shepard said he started coming to the mall for walks after it first opened – before mall-walking was a popular and common pastime. Back then, there was an IGA store at the mall and a Deering Ice Cream shop, he said.

In 1983, Shepard said, he suffered a heart attack and had to go through physical therapy. When he recovered, Shepard returned to his mall walks, more determined than ever to stay fit.

“We have fun out here,” Shepard said. “But we also can get a good workout, no matter how bad the weather gets outside.”

Walkers keep pace at Maine Mall