They shook. They twisted. They jumped.

And while others took a break, they just kept on boot-scoot boogying.

That’s probably why Frank Knernschield and Mona Keltner, one of the regular couples on the dance floor at the Lawrence Senior Center, have shuffled 17,000 miles on a pedometer this year.

“They never sit down,” said Frankie Ensfield, of Wellsville, laughing as she took a break herself during the Oldsters United for Responsible Service, or OURS, dance Wednesday afternoon at the Lawrence Senior Center, 745 Vt.

Before hitting the dance floor, Knernschield and Keltner, who both live in Topeka, explained a little about themselves.

Knernschield, 74, a retired grocer originally from the Kansas City area, is divorced and has four children. Keltner, 75, who ran a Topeka day care center for many years, is now retired. A widow for five years, she has three daughters.

Neither had done much dancing until they met in September 2002 at the Lawrence Senior Center.

Topeka residents and dance partners Frank Knernschield and Mona Keltner dance Wednesday afternoon with Oldsters United for Responsible Service at the Lawrence Senior Center. The two dance together five nights a week and keep track of their activity with a pedometer.

“She was up here with three other gals,” Knernschield said. “And I came up with another gentleman. I just started dancing with her.”

Something clicked, but not right away.

“He danced with two other girls. And he came back to me and kept me on the floor the rest of the day,” Keltner said, laughing. “The first time we danced together, we knew we wanted to dance together again.”

Since that time, they don’t miss a step – they dance five nights a week in Lawrence and Topeka.

On Wednesdays they dance from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Lawrence and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at a Veterans of Foreign Wars dance hall in Topeka.

So, is this a regular date?

“Oh, I guess you could say that,” Keltner said.

In January, the pair decided to track their steps using a pedometer. The best way to put on the mileage is to stay on the dance floor, they said.

“Last Sunday night and the Sunday night before we danced 10 miles. They really had a good band,” Keltner said.

How long will they keep going?

“We found out what we really wanted to know,” Keltner said. “Dancing is good exercise.”