Wonders of Walking

Walking, what’s the big deal? We all do it, right?
Well, it became abundantly clear to me that there ‘might be something to it’ during the Portland Marathon last October. I’d heard of race walking, but didn’t really give it too much thought.
So rather than make the same error repeatedly, I took a walking technique class from Judy Heller of Wonders of Walking as part of my training for the next long walking race. She is amazing and proved to me that all of the instincts I have about how to walk quickly and effectively are dead wrong. This explains a lot. :-)
She asked our group, «What is your goal for the race?» Most of my teammates answered with time based goals. Mine was a little more basic, «I just don’t want to lose any toenails!»
Now all I have to do is practice, practice, practice.
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WOW has a walking club that meets every Saturday morning beginning in February at REI in the Pearl District and the one in Clackamas. Check out their website for the details. My personal observation is that most of the walkers are in their 40s and up.