How to Race Walk

Race walking has been an Olympic event since 1906. On a professional level, race walking is controlled by a set of simple rules that ensure participants are walking rather than running. For the novice, race walking can provide a good way to get in shape that requires little training and very little equipment. Follow these steps to get started.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Comfortable workout clothing
• Race-walking shoes
• Relatively level walking surface

1. Stand up straight with your head level and your eyes straight ahead. Focus on something about 20 yards ahead of where you are standing. Relax your jaw.

2. Bend your arms 90 degrees at the elbows. Swing your arms loosely from the shoulder. On the return, your arms should be parallel with your body.

3. Move one leg in front of the other, landing your front foot on your heel with your ankle flexed. Your front leg should be straight when it hits the ground.

4. Roll your rear foot forward by pushing off from your toes. Your lead foot should hit the ground before the rear foot loses contact.

5. Keep your body in alignment and your hips facing forward.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are race walking in hot weather, remember to stay hydrated. In cold weather, pay attention to your clothing and make sure you protect your skin by wearing tights, a tracksuit, a hat and gloves.
• Remember to stretch before and after you walk. You should even stretch on days that you don't walk. Stretching will help you feel good and avoid injury.
• Buy a pair of race-walking shoes at a running store. Once you find a pair that you like, wear them only when you race walk. These shoes wear out quickly enough, so it's best to save them for walking.

Resources

• Racewalk is an online race-walking resource.
• Racewalking provides a lot of information about race walking.
• Walking Healthy is a website for noncompetitive race walkers.

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