Running by walking

Through much of the walk, he has only a single companion. His volunteer staffers switch off carrying water, campaign literature, and a smartphone in a knapsack with a small blue “Tom Conroy for Senate’’ placard on the back.

In the political era of rapid-response Twitter feeds, Conroy, 49, is taking a decidedly slow route. The three-term state representative from Wayland is believed to be the first candidate in the state to walk its entirety seeking votes, drawing inspiration from Lawton Chiles, a legendary Florida politician who traversed his state 41 years ago in a similar underdog campaign that vaulted him from the state Senate into the US Senate.

The nontraditional approach, which some label a gimmick, is something of a Hail Mary for the little-known, albeit highly credentialed Conroy as he tries to emerge from an unfamiliar field of Democrats all seeking a crack at Scott Brown.

Conroy is Forrest Gump, if Forrest had degrees from Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Boston University.

“Hi ladies, Tom Conroy,’’ he said, introducing himself to two women pushing a stroller down Grafton Street in Worcester. “What’s the little one’s name?’’

In some ways, Conroy’s trek echoes Brown’s journey in his pickup truck, which became a potent symbol - and an iconic campaign advertisement - of an everyman willing to rack up miles to meet voters as he built momentum toward his improbable win in a special election last year.

Conroy has garnered some modest media coverage. But has no current plans to create a television ad. In the first three weeks after he announced his candidacy, he raised just $61,000.

He said he is walking to get a tangible understanding of what residents want from their federal government.

“When you’re on the ground, you just sort of notice stuff more,’’ he said.