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Sep 2012
10:54am, 29 Sep 2012
13,718 posts
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hellen
In my recent ultra I noticed that I was significantly slower at walking than most other people including a 70 year old lady 
I was doing just under 5 min per lap of the track ie about 3mph
If I could increase my walking pace I could gain a significant amount of extra km in a 24 hour race
What's the best way of doing this? I don't want to go out for Long walks and don't want to eat too much into my running time! Would it be worth doing 10-20 min on the TM when I'm at the gym ( 3-5 times a week ) or should I be doing longer things and if so how long?
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Sep 2012
11:28am, 29 Sep 2012
10,025 posts
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Ultracat
Being a slow walker myself I would be lurking for tips.
I suppose practising faster walking would be a start, maybe try to increase cadence and what about looking at race walking type sessions?
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Sep 2012
11:30am, 29 Sep 2012
15,698 posts
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Johnny Blaze
I like walking, me.
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Sep 2012
11:42am, 29 Sep 2012
669 posts
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Fellrunning
I'd say power waking rather than race walking. Race walking is about technique which is good, but the "rules" are a bit limiting. Power walking is just race walking without rules.
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Sep 2012
12:19pm, 29 Sep 2012
613 posts
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Tarahumara
I am not currently running due to injury but am walking and my pace has certainly improved. It's all about concerted effort! Arms swinging and engaging the glutes
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Sep 2012
12:52pm, 29 Sep 2012
251 posts
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mblnFERCr
I'm a pretty speedy walker, as far as I can tell it's all about the arms - swing them purposefully and the legs will follow. I'm not sure how you'd train for this specifically - do you do much walking in normal life? Just make sure that whenever you are walking you do so with purpose.
I had the same 1.5 mile from the train station to work and back every day for several years, and commuters can be quite competitive - on a good day this would take less than 20 minutes.
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Sep 2012
1:02pm, 29 Sep 2012
13,719 posts
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hellen
I dont generally do a lot of walking, I cycle shorter journeys like the 1.5 miles to work. Maybe I should think about walking it as that wouldnt eat into my time too much
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Sep 2012
1:04pm, 29 Sep 2012
21,749 posts
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Velociraptor
It's worth working at increasing your cadence rather than trying to increase stride length. Stand tall, pull yourself upright from the midsection, and, as Tarahumara says, swing your arms purposefully and work your bum. Practise on the pavement or the track rather than on the treadmill. And to begin with, you may well find that you can't maintain the effort level even for 10 minutes and have to do "intervals".
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Sep 2012
4:09pm, 29 Sep 2012
614 posts
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Tarahumara
It is hard work! I am astounded at how shattered I am after walking 5 - 7 miles! I am worried that I'm enjoying it too much though
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Sep 2012
4:27pm, 29 Sep 2012
7,947 posts
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ChrisHB
I became a fast walker as a mean teenager, saving 2.5p (6d) bus-fare by walking home five miles from school, and doing it in only a few more minutes than the bus took.
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