May 19, 2008 10:05 am US/Central
Taking A Few Giant Steps With Race Walkers
(WCCO)
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It's a rather ungainly-looking form that takes a little bit of getting used to doing.
AP
If you see a group of people at Como Lake who are not exactly running, nor are they exactly walking, it's because they're involved in a new activity: race walking.
We caught up with a few race walkers last week to get a brief introduction to the sport, which may, upon first glance, look a little haphazard. But don't be fooled, there are a number of rules that must be followed.
"You have to appear to have one shoe on the ground all the time, and your knee has to be straight from the moment of first contact in front until the leg is vertical," explained Terry Moore.
It's a rather ungainly-looking form that takes a little bit of getting used to doing.
"I had tried race walking a couple times but I thought it looked weird. And it's kind of a different coordination, so it took me a while to get it," said race walker Lauren Hill. "You're actually taking more steps per minute, instead of larger steps. And it actually keeps you from going up and down so much, which is very jarring."
"The technique is not easy to learn. It was not for me," said Moore. "Some people pick it up right away. But for me it was kind of hard to learn."
"The only time I've seen people naturally race walk is when you're at a pool when the lifeguard yells, 'No running!' And they all race walk at that point," joked Bruce Leasure.
"It takes patience, sometimes," said Jeanne DeMartino. "We always say, 'You have to slow down to get faster.' You learn the technique, and then once you do it's worth it."
The motion may appear awkward, but the benefit is that it doesn't take a toll on your lower body like running can do, according to the race walkers, and yet it still provides a good aerobic exercise alternative.
"It's a third the impact of running, but it has the ability to place your heart rate any place you want," explained Leasure. "A lot of people that have fitness walked for a long time, they aren't getting their heart rate high enough because their body is so used to fitness walking."
Just how fast these race walkers can "move" is pretty amazing. The pace for a mile is between 10 and 11 minutes. Clearly, these race walkers take their sport in stride.
"It does look kind of strange, and so you kind of have to get over people giving you funny looks," said Hill.
"Try it, though. I mean, that's all I say to anybody," said DeMartino. "Until you try it, you don't know how good it feels."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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