Can I Walk During My Runs?
Thursday June 18, 2009
A lot of runners I talk to associate walking during a run or race with failure. I always feel bad when I hear that sentiment because walking is very beneficial for runners. Walking helps you increase your muscle endurance without putting as much stress on your joints and muscles as running does. And short walking intervals can break up the monotony during a long run or race, which can help you deal with the mental challenges.
I encourage runners to embrace walking as part of their overall strategy for completing long runs or races, or as a cross-training activity for non-running days in their training schedule. Here are some ways you can incorporate walking into your running routine:
- Walk for the warm-up and cool down portions of your runs.
- Try a run/walk approach, where you run for a certain period of time or distance, and then walk for a different interval. Some runners who use this approach say it helps keep them injury-free.
- Walk through the water stops during a race. Some runners like to break up their running by walking through water stops so they don't have to try to drink on the run.
I’ve been running for less than a year, having started the couch to 5k program last july and have fallen in love with running. got over eager in increasing mileage last fall which resulted in IT band, hip, and shin splint injuries. I backed off and researched the Jeff Galloway method run/walk/run method and have become a beliver in it. At first I didn’t follow Jeff’s run/walk ratio guideline, because I knew I could run for an hour without stopping. I also thought it would reduce my overall training pace. I finally decided to go all the way and use his recommended ratios (1min/1min for my 13:30 training pace) and what a difference it made for me. I’m basically injury free now while still running. Finished a 2 hr run in Tx heat Sun morning and recoved in less than an hour! Used 1:1 throughout with a couple of longer walks as needed to take in some food. Its been working for me so I am going to continue following Jeff’s advice.
btw: I’m almost 63, post heart attack and began running for better control of blood chemistry and general health. Now love it and run for enjoyment and health bonus! Oh, the running improved health to the point that minor heart enlargement diagnosed in 1992 has reversed and is now normal!
Wow, Bob — what an amazing success story! Thanks so much for sharing it.
Hi! Just to let you know. I’m 29, did the couch to 5k and I’m loving it.
And I read all your articles.
I think I just hit a weight loss wall but I’ll do more running now.
I was doing 4k to 5k in 21,5 min but I’ll extend this to 35 to 40 min and doing 8k to 10k.
Pedro,
Thanks for your comments! If you think you’ve hit a weight loss wall, check out this article:
How Can I Break Through a Weight Loss Plateau?
I think it’s very difficult for newbies to learn that walking is not a failure in our training workouts, and it can help us to improve our health better than having to break out before to get exhausted.
I’ve started running last 2008, 10th Dec and I always have to repeat myself: “don’t worry, if you must walk, then walk, recover yourself and run again…”.
Thanks a lot for this kind of interesting articles that help us in our running learning.
Best!
Walking, particularly for a beginning runner, is necessary, in my opinion. I coach high school cross country & track at a small school, and get a number of kids who simply want to get in shape. I make sure most of them make planned, methodical walking segments part of their workouts for at least a month. I think it’s even more important for adults who start running. “Boy Scout Pace” is an excellent strategy – jog 100 paces, brisk walk 100 paces. It extends the amount of time exercising, burns more fat, and the athlete enjoys the psychological advantage of knowing that recovery is only a few steps away.