Speed Walking vs. Running - General running

Toco Toucan

21/08/2009 at 10:08

Sitting here (on my day off) watching the World Championship 50km on TV. The men hit the 20km mark in 88 mins. That is approximately 45 mins for a 10k. If I ran a 10k in that time, i'd be estatic. I was also thinking that as one foot needs to be on the ground at all times, it's a low impact exercise and therefore no knee injuries. All the injuries I've had are knee related. Any thoughts?

danowat

21/08/2009 at 10:11

The only thought I have about speed walking, is that they all look like they've shat themselves!!!!

Toco Toucan

21/08/2009 at 10:14

The waddle is not very pretty I agree but it works and probably tones your abs as well.

LIVERBIRD

pirate

21/08/2009 at 10:19

And means you need a double hip replacement by the time you're 25 by the looks of things....

Zanzinger

21/08/2009 at 10:23

Toco Toucan wrote (see)

The men hit the 20km mark in 88 mins. That is approximately 45 mins for a 10k.

I love your maths!......A day off from work or a day off from school?

They all run in this walking race anyway, some get caught, some get away with it.

fat buddha

21/08/2009 at 10:26

it's a bizarre sport and they move damn fast.....

have you ever tried speedwalking?? it's damn hard to do it correctly - much easier to run imho.......

Toco Toucan

21/08/2009 at 10:28

Approximately I said Zanzinger but point taken

Hip replacements combined with really toned bum cheeks Liverbird.

LIVERBIRD

pirate

21/08/2009 at 10:29

Toco Toucan wrote (see)

Hip replacements combined with really toned bum cheeks Liverbird.

*ponders if the trade off is worth it*

I do know an exceptional surgeon....

oxymoron

pirate

21/08/2009 at 10:31

there was a speed walker that i spoke to before my poncey desert stroll, he was also doing it and hoping to be very competive, he believed that the speed walking would be more efficient over the long run. he seemed less confident of his theory by the end of the week though!

I think i remember him saying that his 10k pb was about 44 mins, walking obviously. I'm sure his 1 mile time was something crazy, just inside 7 minutes maybe?

cougie

pirate

21/08/2009 at 10:47

Its quite fast thats true - but for petes sake - just run !

Seems a bit of a silly event - we could also do the 'gaily skipping along 10k' as well.

I know the race walkers will come on and kick me for this - but they'll prob get DQ'd for their feet leaving the floor - so I may get away with it.

LIVERBIRD

pirate

21/08/2009 at 10:50

Cougie - I will marshall the event that sees you "gaily skipping along" even if it's in Auckland!

Carrot

21/08/2009 at 10:56

I can't watch for much longer than a few minutes as I end up laughing too much. Sorry.

When we did Nottingham marathon last year we went past a few mincers at the 8 mile mark. Don't know if they were doing the half or the full, but they were going at some pace!

They still look silly though.

danowat

21/08/2009 at 11:05

The whole "action" looks wholey unatural, I can't imagine they are all injury free wiggling along like that for 50k

JWrun

21/08/2009 at 13:26

They all carry a 50p between thier buttcheeks - thats why they have to walk like that!

Ridiculous!

Pizza Man:-)

21/08/2009 at 14:09

I mince

injuries, nah not really. I kept getting injured runnning so took it up. I tend to train after work at night (I finish at about 11) otherwise I'd just be chav bait.

the pros, very flexible and very fit the cons looks ridiculous

as for the speed, the elites will do 37 for 10k. Me, and I'm county standard about 50.

Fell Running

21/08/2009 at 14:10

My eldest daughter represented Australia in the womens 20K walk in Berlin. Sadly she got DQ'd just beyond 10K. This probably had more to do with the fact that she'd had a child 4 months earlier, so her training had been somewhat compromised. The speed was still there but the technique was rather rusty. Stiil gave me time to get very teary and proud though.

As an event its no dafter than throwing the stick or jumping into the sandpit. Perhaps you'd like to try telling the German guy who won the shot how silly he looks, I'm sure he'd be happy to discuss it with you.

Injuries tend to be hip and back related. Knee injuries are less common than with distance runners.

Overall a walker is likely to remain injury free for longer than a runner. The seriously competitive window is longer too. There are a lot of world class walkers who go on into their late 30's.

fat buddha

21/08/2009 at 14:18

ah - I'd forgotten your daughter is a race walker FR. shame about her DQ - how was she doing up until that point??

Fell Running

21/08/2009 at 14:24

The Russian was well away by then, but she was in touch with the Irish and Chinese, in the top 10 when the DQ came.

On refelection she was in "sh*t or bust mode" as she puts it, and it was bust.

Still 20 weeks after giving birth it was quite impressive.

gingerfurball pirate

pirate

21/08/2009 at 15:08

Thats brilliant FR - you must be dead proud of her.

(pity about the DQ though)

Zanzinger

21/08/2009 at 15:41

The whole event is a farce. They try to police it, but they are all running at some stage.

I've seen a documentary, where they did ultra slow mo on them, and without fail every single 'walker' was running at some point, or lifting as they like to put it.

It is totally different to javelin, or long jump etc. These sports are simple to execute in principle.