Race Walkers Defend Peculiar Sport

“Race Walkers resemble caffeinated storks, ” suggests writer Gretchen Reynolds in her article about the sport for The New York Times Well section. However, race walkers have the last laugh and bragging rights when they point out that the longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50 kilometer race walk. That is about 5 miles longer than the marathon.

Steve Hart, writing for The New York Times on the same subject, notes that race walkers usually are superbly conditioned athletes. The sport requires that the race walker’s knees must stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot must maintain contact with the ground. Jaclyn Norberg, Ph.D., an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts, wrote her dissertation about race walking and is quoted by both writers.

Norberg claims that race walkers move at about six miles per hour. They burn about 800 calories per hour, which is about twice as many as they would burn walking normally. Runners typically burn about 1, 000 or more calories per hour.

The advantage of race walking is that the activity does not pound the body as much as running does. Norberg says runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per stride. Race walkers, who do the form correctly, do not leave the ground. They generate only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step. The benefit for race walkers is they do not experience the injuries associated with running, such as shin splints and runner’s knee. Norberg says that such injuries are uncommon among race walkers.

Nevertheless, the sport places considerable stress on the ankles and hips, Norberg says. She urges beginners to consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique. “It takes some practice” and perhaps a tolerance for gentle ribbing from your training partner or spouse, ” she says.