What Every Exercise-hater Must Know About Marathon Walking

The word marathon is meant to inspire terror. It'srunners. That means they need to allow extra
a 26.2 mile run that takes even super athletestime, extra hydration and even some food. It is
hours to complete. You can't just sign up and donot unusual for marathon walkers to bring along
a marathon. You have to train rigorously to evenpackets of bars, gels, or liquids to take in along
have a hope of finishing. So why do some peoplethe way. Bathroom breaks are also more
think this is fun?necessary during a six or seven hour period of
Yet a growing movement is occurring around theexercise than for those who can do the course in
world that allows more and more people themuch shorter times.
opportunity to participate in marathons and otherThe best training program for walkers involves
races by walking and not running. Walking is aconsistent training over a period of about six
much lower stress activity than running or evenmonths or more before the race.
jogging.Every week, the walker should go out four times
Walking marathons allows for people of all ages,in "maintenance walks" that start out at 30
particularly older people, to enjoy the healthminutes and gradually extend to full hours. Once a
benefits of marathon training.week, there should be a "long walk." This can
And mile for mile, walking burns the same caloriesstart out at 15 or 30 minutes; the walker should
as running. So why don't more people walkadd 15 minutes more each week until the walk is
marathons?about 1 hour and 45 minutes long.
First, not all marathons are open to walkers andDuring these initial weeks, walkers should learn
some permit walkers but do not officiallygood form and technique and only concentrate on
encourage them. Marathons that invite walkerstime, not speed or distance. Obviously, it's a good
are sometimes advertised as "walker friendly."idea to gradually try to improve speed, but the
(Not all of them are!)main focus is doing the time.
The biggest concern for marathon walkers whoAfter 1 hour and 45 minutes, it's time to switch
participate in official races is how long the track isover to distance. At this point, long walks are
open. A top runner completes a marathon inmeasured in miles, starting with 6 miles and adding
slightly over two hours. Most reasonably gooda mile a week until the walks get up to 10 or 11
athletes can do a marathon in four hours. Evenmiles.
slower runners can complete a marathon in fiveAt this point, marathon walkers should defer to
or six hours. (A six-hour marathon time meanstraining manuals for marathon runners. A very
the runner ran 13 minute miles ... not exactly acrucial skill that marathoners must learn is how to
super-fast time!) However, walkers need six toadd six more miles to the distance. This means
eight hours to complete a marathon. Walkingone week the long walk is 10 miles, the next
consistent 15-minute miles, it would take a littleweek it's 16. The following week it's back to 10,
over six-and-a-half hours to walk a marathon.then the next week to 11, and then it's 17 miles.
Factor in some bathroom breaks, inconsistentThis pattern is important, because it drills into the
performance, or slower walking times and youmarathoner a very important confidence and
end up with marathon walkers who turn in timesability: the ability to go six more miles, no matter
of seven or eight hours.what.
Most marathons keep the track open six hours.Once the long walk hits 20 miles, that's an
After that, they begin to "sweep" or start at theimportant marker in training. No long walk during
beginning of the track and pick up stragglers, thetraining should ever exceed 20 miles. However,
injured, and the clean up the mess at waterbefore taking on a race, a marathon walker
stations.should have done at least three long walks of 20
While walkers can dodge the sweepers for amiles.
while, eventually the walkers will be compelled toA few weeks before the actual race, training
leave the track and the marathon unfinished.ramps down. Walks get shorter. While the walker
The Los Angeles Marathon is known for beingmaintains a consistent schedule of four hour-long,
super-friendly to walkers because the track isfairly fast maintenance walks a week, the "long
open long enough for even slow walkers towalks" dwindle down to a mere 10 or 12 miles.
complete the race before getting "swept up."On race day, the newbie marathon walker faces
In some ways, walkers face the same traininghis or her first 26.2 mile walk. But he or she has
challenges as runners. It takes consistent traininglearned two vital skills: the ability to go 20 miles
over a period of many months to build up thewith confidence and the ability to be able to go
stamina and technique required to go 26.2 miles atsix more miles no matter what. The last 0.2 miles
once.that makes up the marathon is run on adrenalin
Training programs for walkers tend to be sporadicand crowd noise. To be able to participate in a
and are not always offered in groups training tomarathon, a training schedule should be set up to
enter a marathon. When walking programs aremap onto race day. Once a marathon walker is
available, there may be only a few participantsfully in training, he or she can easily modify the
and no real experts at walking technique.schedule to accommodate other races during the
Marathon walkers also face their own uniqueyear. In fact, many people get so addicted to
challenges. Although a very fast elite walker canmarathon walking that they do four, five or more
actually out-pace a slow runner, most walkers areraces a year.
on the track and exercising longer than the