A Real Walking Coach Could Have Helped

Marathon walking and racewalking coach Dave McGovern emailed me yesterday about the ABC-TV reality show Fat March. He said he was contacted in February but didn't take it too seriously. He sent in an interview tape rather than a polished audition tape and didn't get the job as a trainer on Fat March.

When you are looking for a trainer, it is best to get one that is specific for your sport, and one who has experience in coaching people like you. Dave McGovern literally wrote the book on training to walk a marathon and has coached many people for the Leukemia Society Team in Training marathon walking program. I assume that more than a few of those people were overweight.

I attended Dave's racewalking clinic in 1998 and learned to racewalk from him. Dave has an entertaining coaching style and isn't bad looking, either. (He doesn't have the "Jesus" sort of look he had in 1998 - newer photos on his site show a more clean-cut look). Dave hosts racewalking clinics throughout the USA, Canada, and around the world. His clinics are open to all and from the photos of various classes, there are plenty who attend who pack some extra poundage. They still learn to walk faster with good body mechanics and without injury.

Instead, Fat March went with two coaches who do not list any track, running, or walking credentials. Both have credentials in bodybuilding instead. Trainer Lorrie Henry is a former Marine. I assume the show decided they wanted trainers who would shock the Fat Marchers into shape boot camp style. Break them down and build them up. And break them down they did - two to the emergency room in the first three days and one quitting rather than taking an ambulance ride herself.

Reviewing our Exercise Guide's Warning Flags You've Chosen the Wrong Personal Trainer, yep, they went the wrong direction.

If you want to learn walking rather than being subjected to a boot camp for bodybuilders, I heartily recommend Dave McGovern's books and clinics, as I have for the past 10 years. I also recommend Erofit's annual racewalking retreat in Beaverton, Oregon.

• Book Review: The Complete Guide to Marathon Walking, by Dave McGovern
• Book Review: The Complete Guide to Racewalking, by Dave McGovern
• Dave's Worldclass Racewalking Clinics
• Erofit Walking Classes and Retreats