Did you know this about race walking ?

You've probably seen it on TV before: exhausted, jaded race walkers who collapse after reaching the finish line and barely are able to take one more step.

One can ask the question why race walkers collapse after a race over 50 km and marathon runners do not ?

Walk vs. Marathon

A scientific study has established that race walkers who cover the 50 km in barely 4 hours or well under 4 hours at an average speed of over 12.5 km/h, have to perform about 20% more work than a marathon runner. This means that race walking over 50 km requires almost twice as much energy as running a marathon.    

But how is it possible that a race walker consumes so much more energy ?

Let's see what science has to say about this.

The key is the energy cost of the movement. This energy cost expresses how much energy, measured in calories of joules, an athlete consumes per traveled kilometer (kilometric performance) in relation to his speed and body weight.
In running, this energy cost is a straight line: the energy consumption per kilometer traveled, regardless of speed, is equal to 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight.
In race walking, the energy cost forms a U-shaped curve because walking above the transition point that lies in humans at about 7.5 km to 8 km/h, requires more energy than running.
At a speed above 7.5 km/h, running is of course more thrifty or economical than walking.
It is a certainty that race walkers who cover 50 km consume almost twice as much energy as marathon runners and therefore is race walking a very effective form of physical exercise and  without doubt a very difficult discipline.        

Statement Nunn, former Olympic race walker 50 km

Race walking is since 1908 an Olympic discipline and part of athletics. Athletics, together with swimming, is still the most important sport at the Games.
The Olympic distances are the 20 km race walk (men/ women) and the 50 km for the men. 

According to John Nunn, a former athlete from the USA, the 50 km race walk is the most grueling event at the Games. And this statement could be true. "I would like to debate this with everyone" Nunn said in an interview with NBA journalist Rodger Sherman.
The 50 km race walk is a true test for the endurance of the human body. Many race walkers who reach the finish line almost immediately fall to the ground and receive some form of medical assistance.
Nunn finished in 43rd place at the 2016 Games in Rio at more than half an hour behind Olympic champion Matej Toth from Slovakia who covered the 50 km in 3 h 40' 58".
Nunn begins to weep after the finish, not out of disappointment but because he had the willpower to not give up and out of self-respect for the effort he had to put in.

Power walking

When classifying the walking sport into categories, power walking is situated between race walking and recreational walking. 
Power walking, abbreviated pw, is in every way, a challenge for sporty people to push back your limits and thus to surpass you.

Hikers who are affiliated at the federations in the Benelux (= the non-competitive walking sport) can get more of their federal hikes by going deeper than a comfortable pace of 6 km/h.  
To achieve high energy consumption via a sporty pace, young hikers can consider power walking.

Why choose power walking ?

♦ power walking is an ideal outdoor sport for the building and the conservation of a good physical condition; 
♦ it has a favorable and beneficial effect on the mental and physical health and thus guarantees a better quality of life;
♦ it is an efficient training for the strengthening of the mental power: pw increases the self-confidence, it leads to inner calm and lucidity of mind, it stimulates the concentration, it develops the mental capacity and finally, it improves the resistance towards stress and reverses;   
♦ pw creates a particularly pleasant feeling of fitness and self-satisfaction through intensive effort;
♦ it is not a risky sport: there are no injuries by direct contact with the opponent and there is no danger for heavy falls;
♦ pw is the best natural solution for the prevention of illnesses and in particular for respiratory diseases;
♦ pw is compatible with other sports (running, football, tennis, fitness, swimming, mountaineering...).

Additional information about this item can be found via the following link:

        https://www.belgianwalkingassociation.com/en/start-to-walk

Publicist Theo Bické
Founder & Manager Belgian Walking Association, abbreviated BWA