Powerwalking A Half Marathon

kristen49233

I started out the summer by walking 5-8 miles 3 or 4 days a week, with the goal of getting to10 miles by the end of summer. I logged10.5 miles this past Saturday, and a friend mentioned I was "dangerously close" to a half marathon. Dangerous is right!

Got me to thinking...maybe that should be my next goal?? I've found one close to me that's a run/walk marathon in October and I believe I'm going to do it. This is also a relatively smaller marathon (number of people participating), so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for a first-timer. I need to pick up my pace a bit--I'm currently walking 13-14:30 minute miles, and we must complete it within 3 hours to receive a medal.

Not that it matters because I'm going to do it anyways...but do the runners frown upon the walkers? Is there any road etiquette that I should be aware of as a walker? Anything else I should be aware of?

TIA

pondee629

...but do the runners frown upon the walkers? Not that I'm aware of. Once you're past at the start, the faster runner won't see you again.
Is there any road etiquette that I should be aware of as a walker? Start in the back, well back, of the pack at the start. All the runners will be in front of you and you won't be noticed.
Anything else I should be aware of? Don't walk in a large group so if someone is behind you and wants to pass, he/she can without too much difficulty. Sometimes a walker/slower starter will want to pick up his/her pace as the run continues. Just be aware of your surroundings and be courteous.

I've only run in two 5Ks, but walkers were welcomed and were encouraged. Just be aware of your surroundings and be courteous. And, Always, have fun

kristen49233

pondee629 wrote: »

...but do the runners frown upon the walkers? Not that I'm aware of. Once you're past at the start, the faster runner won't see you again.
Is there any road etiquette that I should be aware of as a walker? Start in the back, well back, of the pack at the start. All the runners will be in front of you and you won't be noticed.
Anything else I should be aware of? Don't walk in a large group so if someone is behind you and wants to pass, he/she can without too much difficulty. Sometimes a walker/slower starter will want to pick up his/her pace as the run continues. Just be aware of your surroundings and be courteous.

I've only run in two 5Ks, but walkers were welcomed and were encouraged. Just be aware of your surroundings and be courteous. And, Always, have fun

Thanks Pondee!!

3dogsrunning

Pondee nailed it.
The only time you'd have runners frown upon walkers is if they do what is mentioned above - start in front of faster runners or block the path for people behind as a group.

I was passed by a speed walker in a half marathon once...
I was running.

TavistockToad

Start at the back and you'll be fine. Enjoy!

lporter229

Also, you generally want to try and stay to the right and give other people room to pass. Plenty of people walk half marathons. You will be fine. In fact, you will probably be faster than a lot of runners! Good luck!!

acbraswell

What Pondee said. I've run several races (Run/walk intervals at 4min run/2 min walk) and have been passed by walkers. I marvel at what they can do! If you average 13-14:30 a mile you should be able to complete the 13.1 in close to 3 hours. Race-day atmosphere will give you a boost of adrenaline. Good luck!!

kristen49233

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your replies and will keep them in mind marathon day!

scorpio516

At 13:00 to 14:00, your going to be beating runners.
Many halfs and fulls have pacers and pace groups. Just start in the right area, if it exists

deluxmary2000

Go for it! That is a SUPER SPEEDY pace for walking - I know people who run slower. The etiquette advice you got is good. Also, if you were going to do some form of jog/walk, make sure you move over and make sure no one is directly behind you when you slow down.
If there's a 3-hour limit for a medal, that's a 13:45 pace. Sounds like you're doing that already. Good luck!

Docbanana2002

Just weighing in to say that in general runners are a pretty friendly and encouraging group, no matter how fast you are. I've gone to events as a 20 minute mile morbidly obese walker and 9 minute mile average-weight runner and everywhere in between and never had anyone be rude. Nearly everyone is there to beat their own personal best and share a sport we all enjoy and others' speed won't really matter (except maybe for the medal contenders... they want to beat out the competition!). If you are walking in the 13 minute range, you will likely be surrounded by people who are doing a slow jog or run/walk intervals. They won't look down on you but will be impressed and slightly insecure that you are hanging with them without ever switching out of a walk.

As far as etiquette goes, I'd say just to pick the event well and make sure you are able to finish in the time allotted... race managers get annoyed at people who go so slower than posted time limits, blocking their ability to re-open roads safely at the time they are supposed to. Or that keep volunteers at the water stations long beyond their expected shift. Sounds like you are fine in terms of your event choice and can be under the posted time.

The other HUGE etiquette thing is to not block the faster people... that's already been mentioned. It was so frustrating at my last half marathon when we had clearly marked corrals and I was in the 10 minute corral... we took off running about that speed but within a tenth of a mile there were a lot of people just stopping and walking at a 20ish minute pace right in the middle of the road. I had to brake and find a way around them, it was annoying. NO way those people were finishing at the time they stated on their registration form and there were ample chances to change to a slower corral in a situation where they were overly optimistic on registration day and training didn't go as planned....so I don't get it. Maybe they don't understand that their official time is the chip time, not the gun time, so they think they can get some advantage by starting close to the front??? Anyway... stay with similarly paced people and if you need to slow down, don't do it abruptly in the midst of a crowd of people moving quickly and definitely don't do it while in the inside of a turn where people are running tangents to reduce their time. Since you are a walker, this last part (about slowing down) probably won't apply to you since you'll be going a pretty consistent pace. The people doing walking/running intervals might take off quickly and then stop abruptly, so watch out you don't plow into them.

kristen49233

Thanks again! Great advice!!