March 9th, 2010
Ecuadorians Rolando Saquipay and Mesías Zapata highlighted the 17th South American Race Walking Championships that took place in Cochabamba on 6-7 March.
Competing at the always challenging altitude of 2574m, the thirty-year-old Saquipay won the 20km event in 1:24:50 (7 March), leaving Colombian Gustavo Restrepo in second place with 1:27:40, and Chilean Yerko Araya in third (1:30:45).
via iaaf.org – Ecuadorians shine at South American Race Walking Championships.
March 8th, 2010
He started the run on the 1 July 2008 and after 21, 250km he will be running into Cape Point this Saturday, 13 Mar 10.
He has run thorugh a dozen different countries in his quest which was a lot harder than first expected. Fighting illness, injury, fatigue and lonliness on the road! Even though he is no stranger to Solo Running, having completed his first World Run in 2005 (Europe, Russia, Japan, Australia and North America – 26,000km), this Run has been a lot harder than expected and he will be taking a break at Cape Point before starting the second half of his journey in South America in a few months time.
via Ultra Legends » Blog Archive » Olsen to finish first half of World Run 2.
March 8th, 2010
Joyner is a cancer survivor. Diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007, she has been cancer-free since later that same year. She is once again pursuing many of her hobbies, including racewalking, but the experience has taught her to enjoy the finer things in life.
via The Vicksburg Post > Archives > Sports > Walking away from cancer.
March 4th, 2010
10 Things You Dont Want to See on Your Walk
Wendy Bumgardner via What You Dont Want to See on Your Walk.
March 3rd, 2010
Who was your worst walking partner? What did they do (or not do) that was so annoying? I’ve walked with a lot of different walking partners over the years, and there are a few I’ve had to part ways with. Share Your Story
Wendy Bumgardner via Who Was the Worst Walking Partner You Ever Walked With.
Wendy Bumgardner’s 10 Rules for Walking Partners
March 3rd, 2010
In their first 48 hours of peddling hiker permits, under a new system designed to relieve weekend and holiday crowding on Yosemite National Park’s popular Half Dome Trail, park concessionaires have sold nearly all of the 5,700 available spots. Permits went up for grabs Monday morning. As of 3:19 p.m. Tuesday, park spokesman Scott Gediman said, just 69 were left, all of them earmarked for Memorial Day, May 31.
via Yosemite: Half Dome hiking permits sell like hot cakes – Travel – LATimes.com .
March 2nd, 2010
Weight-Loss Challenge: How these dieters lost 10 to 20 pounds.
Several readers who participated in this year’s Weight-Loss Challenge lost 10 to 20 pounds in a few months.
USA TODAY asked four dieters to share the keys to their success.
via Weight-Loss Challenge: How these dieters lost 10 to 20 pounds – USATODAY.com.
March 1st, 2010
William Mackesy is on a long quest to identify the world’s 100 best walks. He is tackling and assessing all the walks himself, and has so far done more than a third of the likely best walks (listed on our about page). His descriptions of these walks will be appearing on this website.
via Walkopedia – the world’s best walks.
February 28th, 2010
Max Walked it Off with his Dog
Reader Stories: How I Walked Off Weight
Wendy Bumgardner via Max Walked it Off with his Dog.
February 25th, 2010
If you add just 2000 more steps a day to your regular activities, you may never gain another pound. So says research by Dr. James O. Hill of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. To lose weight, add in more steps.
Wendy Bumgardner via Never Gain Another Pound – Walk 2000 More Steps a Day.
February 25th, 2010
If you have signed up for a 5K walk, such as a charity event, but don’t regularly walk for fitness, take a few weeks to train for it so you can enjoy the event without the agony of the feet.
Wendy Bumgardner via 5K Walk Training Schedule for Beginners – Train for Your First 5K Walk.
February 25th, 2010
Credit for saving this remote tract from imminent logging in the early 1900s goes to the good folks of Wonalancet. As related by Marjory Gane Harkness in The Tamworth Narrative, innkeeper Kate Sleeper Walden (who had founded the Wonalancet Out Door Club in 1892) persuaded Louis Tainter of Publishers Paper Company to give her a 60-day option on the purchase of 3,000 acres in The Bowl area. Half of the $50,000 was to come from local and summer residents, the other half from the federal government as part of the creation of the new White Mountain National Forest.
In 1914 a delegation of 16 from the WODC, led by Edgar Rich, journeyed to Gorham for a White Mountains Forest Conference and pleaded their case with the feds. Their efforts were successful, and the Bowl tract was included in a larger appropriation for National Forest land purchase.
via A snowshoe journey into The Bowl.
February 24th, 2010
I have been a nurse for over 25 years and realized that the largest health issues facing America are directly related to and can be prevented by good nutrition. Heart disease is the number one killer in America and can be 98 percent preventable with changes to the American diet. Yes, there are some genetics involved but for the most part high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and high cholesterol are on an increase because of the rising obesity level.
I have struggled for 40-plus years with my weight and through the process of walking the walk have found that diet is only 80 percent and exercise is the other 20 percent. Good, healthy nutrition includes both. The medical association for years has said prevention is the way to go. I found a way to help reverse the problem and educate in the process to prevent people from yo-yo dieting.
via Acton firefighters join weight loss challenge – Acton, MA – The Beacon.
February 23rd, 2010
The show, which takes obese Americans and pits them against each other in a battle to lose the most weight and win $250,000, thrives on extreme numbers. But physicians and nutritionists worry the show’s focus on competitive weight loss is, at best, counterproductive and, at worst, dangerous.
via Health Experts Say ‘Biggest Loser’ Poses Weighty Problems – AOL News.
February 22nd, 2010
Walking 10,000 steps per day for health and weight loss was popularized originally in Japan. As Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke explains in her book Manpo-Kei: The Art and Science of Step Counting, the original figure did not seem to come from any medical research. Several researchers have been playing catch-up on this, including Tudor-Locke and Dr. James O. Hill, author of The Step Diet.
Wendy Bumgardner via Should You Walk 10,000 Steps Per Day for Fitness and Weight Loss – 10000 Steps Per Day.
February 19th, 2010
A MUM-of-two has been proving you can be fabulous at 40 after winning a spot on new modelling television show Kitchen Sink to Catwalk.
Christine Reed, of Haslemere Drive, Penketh, has been put through her paces by the producers behind America’s Next Top Model with assignments including walking through a London market in her underwear.
via From kitchen sink to catwalk (From This Is Cheshire).
February 18th, 2010
Fitness walkers should look for a lighter shoe that still provides adequate cushioning so their feet and legs do not feel beat up from the impact after a long walk. While racing flats and extremely light shoes may work for shorter walks, they do not have enough cushioning for regular use or longer walks.
Wendy Bumgardner via Cushioning for Running Shoes vs. Walking Shoes.
February 18th, 2010
Three years after his grade school experience, James decided to take up race walking. He never looked back.By the 1990s, he was considered America’s dominant race walker. The same year he went into semi-retirement, he won the U.S. National Championship Indoors, just a year after being ranked No. 1 in the 50K class.Aside from events across this country, in the mid-1990s, he set four U.S. records while competing in the Goodwill Games at St. Petersburg, Russia, and the Pan-Am Walk Cup in Atlanta.
via Niagara Gazette – GLYNN: Race walk champ keeping in shape.
February 11th, 2010
A TOTAL of 14 walkers competed in the final Northern Winter Race Walking League 10k at Adwalton Moor, [ Darlington], where the Redcar, Yorkshire, York CIU and Lancashire clubs were all represented.
The race was won by ex-York ace Paul Evenett (Redcar) in a time of 47 minutes and 29 seconds.
via Final Northern Winter Race Walking League 10k at Adwalton Moor (From York Press).
February 10th, 2010
Bridger-Teton National Forest officials say they recently counted 173 piles of dog waste around just one trailhead.
The problem is so bad, it’s contributing to elevated bacteria levels in nearby streams. [Editor: This is a pile count, not a bacteria count.]
via The Associated Press: Dog waste piling up at Wyoming forest trails.
February 10th, 2010
Dr. Tarnopolsky said that he got his best VO2 max — 86 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight — when he weighed 156 pounds. “Like everyone else, I said, ‘Maybe if I drop some body fat, it will go higher,’ ” Dr. Tarnopolsky said. So he got his weight down to 152 pounds. But to his surprise, his VO2 max decreased, to 82.
The likely reason, he said, was that he had reached a point where his body began burning its own muscle protein for fuel. He was weaker, and his performance was worse, even though he weighed less.
via Personal Best – Why Being Slimmer Doesn’t Always Make You Fitter – NYTimes.com.
February 9th, 2010
Stash your bike at the Superior Hiking Trail’s Kingsbury Creek trailhead, and then start the hiking portion of this route at the Munger trailhead just west of Gary, MN. After a brief walk on the paved Munger Trail, head uphill into an oak and pine forest for an 8.5-mile hike along newer sections of the Superior Hiking Trail. The trail runs along a ridgeline for several miles with grand views of the St. Louis River and beyond before dipping down to follow Stewart, Knowlton, and Kingsbury creeks. At the Kingsbury Creek Trailhead, retrieve your bike, then zigzag .6 mile to the Munger Trail’s northern terminus on 75th Avenue. From here it’s a 5.9-mile ride through a corridor of hardwoods to return to the start.
via Backpacker Blogs – Hike of the Day: Superior Hiking Trail, MN .
February 9th, 2010
[University of Wisconsin-Parkside graduate] Stephen Quirke won the 2010 USA National 50-kilometer Race Walk held Sunday at Surprise, Ariz.
Quirke covered the 31.1-mile course in four hours, 23 minutes and three seconds to edge Jonathan Matthews of Helena, Mont., who finished in 4:23:15.
via RACE WALKING: Quirke wins national title.
February 8th, 2010
North Carolina’s North Shore Road, a controversial 26-mile road through the most remote part of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, was finally killed a couple of years ago.
via American Thinker: A Trail of Broken Promises to Nowhere.
February 8th, 2010
Rinsten, of Germany, is one of a group of people who walk the 420-mile route of the Arctic Ultra Run every other year. The walk follows the Quest trail from Whitehorse to Dawson City…
via Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – German takes a different approach to Yukon Quest trail — walking it.
February 7th, 2010
Not many hiking trails have their own weekly radio show…
The trail runs on ridges and through gorges on the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau, a wild, rugged and sparsely populated region that is higher than the surrounding countryside.
via Ohio.com – Trail expands through Tenn. .
February 6th, 2010
“We flew out east and decided to walk home,” Ken Powers said of the trip, for which they became the first known people to hike the American Discovery Trail in a continuous outing. The couple have completed more than 10 hiking expeditions since their retirement, including conquering the Pacific Crest, Continental Divide and American Discovery trails.
via Pleasanton husband and wife have spent the past decade seeing the country on their feet – Inside Bay Area.
February 5th, 2010
Accra, Jan. 31, GNA - Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Prempeh College Old Students Association’s Monthly Health Walk, Mr Kwabena Nyarko has called on students to maintain a high level of discipline in all spheres to ensure their success in life.
via Prempeh College holds Health Walk.
February 4th, 2010
… maintaining a normal body weight is difficult in today’s society. Over the past 50 years, our society has increased its reliance on high-calorie fast foods. Also, food serving sizes have increased dramatically. As caloric intake has increased, the average person is walking less and getting less exercise as part of his or her normal daily routine. In the U.S., such things as suburban living without sidewalks and the phenomenon of the couch potato have created a “built environment” that is conducive to obesity…
Most organizations that have issued recommendations for maintenance of good health suggest that everyone consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. All people should consume more whole grains and less processed food. It is also suggested that healthy adults do moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 30 minutes, at least five times per week. Children should engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes, five times per week. Moderate exercise can be simply walking at a brisk pace.
via Can early diabetes be controlled or completely stopped? – CNN.com.
February 4th, 2010
The Black Hills offer hundreds of possibilities for trail running competitively or just for fun. If you live in the area then you are within minutes of some of the best running trails in the country. If you are visiting, then a person could spend two weeks and not even scratch the surface. On top of that, a trail runner or hiker can see the true beauty of the Black Hills the way it was a hundred years ago…
The Black Elk Wilderness bordering the Mt Rushmore National Park has a network of trails for the both the five mile run and the ten to twenty mile run. Also accessible from these trails is Harney Peak, the highest point between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky mountains at seven thousand feet. This run will take you to places that few people will ever see. Tranquil meadows stunning vistas and granite outcroppings are just a few of the natural wonders people will experience.
via Running Western South Dakota – Black Hills South Dakota News & Video Headline on Black Hills Today.
February 3rd, 2010
Some people walk for exercise; a few even walk marathons. But Yolanda Holder is counting on being the only person in the world to walk 100 marathons this year.
The 51-year-old Corona resident walked 77 marathons last year. Actually, 18 were ultramarathons, longer than 26.2 miles. She walked 65 marathons in 2008. Her personal best: 5 hours, 26 minutes — faster than a 13-minute mile.
via Step by step, woman seeks marathon record | Inland News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California.
February 1st, 2010
One of the easiest, least expensive, most favorable forms of exercise is walking. Take it up a notch to fitness walking and you exponentially gain in physical and psychological ways. Fitness walk with your partner and you’re on your way to all-around bliss. We all know the benefits: strong heart, toned muscles, increased sexual appetite, improved self-esteem, better sleep, increased sexual appetite … oh. We said that.
Fitness walking is not to be confused with power or race walking. The term “power walking” implies exaggerated strides and arm movements that can cause injuries; race walking is that hip-swiveling Olympic event. Fitness walking is purposeful, done at an energetic pace that engages upper-body muscles so that it becomes an aerobic exercise, burning more calories than just a stroll through the park.
via Fitness walking with your honey – Latino Perspectives Magazine – February 2010 – Phoenix, Arizona.
January 30th, 2010
The Carnegie Research Institute at the Leeds Metropolitan University in Great Britain is carrying out unique biomechanical research into Race Walking.
The study includes analysis of high-speed video, force plate data, and internal activity of the leg muscles. Crucial variables in walking are measured, to help athletes understand their strengths and weaknesses when competing.
via European Athletics – British institute undertakes groundbreaking research in Race Walking biomechanics.
January 30th, 2010
When Richard Smith decided to retire from his job at a software company in 2005, his wife told him she didnt want him hanging around the house. “Basically, she told me to go take a hike,” Smith said. “So I did just that.” In the years that followed, the 64-year-old Seminole man completed three of the lengthy National Scenic Trails in the United States — the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail — a distance of nearly 8,000 miles and often referred to as the “Triple Crown” of long-distance hiking. “I had never been on a trail before in my life,” he confessed.
via Long haul trekking – St. Petersburg Times.
January 28th, 2010
Over the course of the study, the hour-long exercisers reported improvements in their feelings toward their bodies that were four times greater than the improvements experienced by the half-hour group. Those results support the study’s proposal that we need 60 minutes of exercise each day for better overall health.
via Each week has 168 hours – spend at least one exercising .
January 26th, 2010
Workers at Harshaw had refined uranium for the production of atomic bombs during World War II — part of the then-mysterious Manhattan Project — leaving behind a microscopic-but-lethal legacy of their wartime work.
How long Cleveland’s radioactive past will obstruct the hiking and bicycling path of its future might depend on whether Donovan and others can sway the federal agency to accelerate its work — or if he can find another way around the site.
“If you look at the Towpath Trail as a whole, we’ve got 88 of 101 miles complete and open to the public,” Donovan said. “But apparently it will still be a long, long march to the sea.
via Radioactive industrial site stands in way of completing Cleveland’s Towpath Trail | Metro – cleveland.com – cleveland.com.
January 25th, 2010
Back in 1854, at 15 Marino Crescent in Clontarf, a seven-year-old named Abraham Stoker, bed-ridden since birth with an undiagnosed disease, suddenly and inexplicably regained his strength. The family doctor recommended he develop this by walking, slowly and steadily, along the Clontarf seafront – and soon Stoker began covering long distances, without pausing for breath. Initially it was tough medicine, but gradually he began to relish it.
By age 17, Stoker had grown into a 6ft 2in red-haired, red-bearded giant of a man, and won a stream of athletic honours in his first year at Trinity College Dublin. But walking remained his passion, and he was among Ireland’s first champion race walkers. He was never beaten, his sole failure to win coming via disqualification after he’d won the five-mile race at the Civil Service championships in London in 1868. Later, during a marathon stroll of the Aberdeenshire countryside, he stumbled upon Cruden Bay, the atmospheric fishing village where in 1895 he wrote a horror story entitled Dracula , published two years later under the name Bram Stoker.
via Stumbling upon walk racing on road to success – The Irish Times – Sat, Jan 23, 2010.
January 25th, 2010
For ring-around-the-mountain tour that includes scenic views from the north and south sides of Mount Tamalpais, hike the loop created by the Benstein Trail, Rock Spring-Lagunitas Road, Upper North Side Trail, International Trail, Miller Trail, Old Railroad Grade and Rock Spring Trail. This moderately strenuous five-mile loop features a variety of landscapes and panoramic views.
via Hike of the week: Ring-around-the-mountain hike on Mount Tamalpais – Marin Independent Journal.
January 22nd, 2010
Water rushed by while Justin Hansen and Ray Coles Jr. clung to tree branches and treaded water, just hoping to survive.
Rescuers were dispatched at 10:50 a.m. Thursday morning to find the two Crestview men surrounded by eight feet of water off the Florida National Scenic Trail in Walton County.
Hansen and Coles started out Wednesday evening for a five-day, 45-mile hike they had been planning for more than a month. After trekking through stormy weather, they decided to wait out the storm overnight near Alaqua Creek and start back the next morning.
via Hikers stranded by high waters on Florida Trail; rescuers rushing to help them | rescue, trail, florida – Breaking News – WaltonSun.com.
January 21st, 2010
You should have at least a light snack before morning exercise as your body has been fasting all night. Even if you are a person who normally skips breakfast, give your body some fruit juice or sports drink to get at least a few calories to work with.
Wendy Bumgardner via Eating Before a Morning Walk – What and When Should I Eat Before a Morning Walk.
January 21st, 2010
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Ernie Ward, veterinarian and founder of The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), about the growing number of overweight pets in our country.
According to a 2008 APOP study, more than 50 percent of the 75 million dogs and 88 million cats in the United States are overweight or obese.
via Tails Of The City : Top fitness and weight-loss products for pets.
January 20th, 2010
Adventure trekker Andrew Skurka captivated listeners Sunday during his presentation, “Far, Fast and Light,” to the Grand Traverse Hiking Club. The spellbound audience at the Boardman River Nature Center enjoyed Skurka’s accounts of his life for the past eight years, which has included hiking 23,000 miles — mostly solo and mostly through remote North American wilderness.
via Traverse City Record-Eagle – Article: Adventurer speaks to hiking club.
January 19th, 2010
A five-time Olympic athlete paid a visit to the students of St. Vladimir Elementary as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver approaches.
Tim Berrett’s first Olympic competition for race walking was during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and he has competed in every Summer Olympics since.
via Metro – Athlete gives kids inside view of what it takes to be an Olympian.
January 19th, 2010
Marston Hills Canyon is a little-known finger of Balboa Park that offers a lovely trail through towering eucalyptus, olive and pepper trees.
via San Diego Hiking: Marston Hills Canyon.
January 18th, 2010
…she started following an eating plan and walking program designed especially for this year’s seventh annual USA TODAY Weight-Loss Challenge, which starts today. And since late September, Buckley, who is 5-foot-4, has lost 28 pounds, dropping from 226 to 198. She hopes to lose 50 more on the program.
via Weight-Loss Challenge: Lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks – USATODAY.com.
January 15th, 2010
Inside this small-as-an-egg device are the keys to exercise success that have eluded far more complex and expensive fitness programs: accountability, goal-setting and being able to monitor progress. If the objective is to reach 10,000 steps in a day (the recommended amount), seeing a tally of 4,000 steps at 3 p.m. is a wake-up call to start walking.
via Pedometers can motivate users to get in step – Los Angeles Times.
