Walking

Marathon Walking - Pacing Your Marathon Walk

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The marathon is an endurance event. You are pushing your body to its limits of endurance and you need to conserve energy throughout the event to make it across the finish line with a big smile for the camera.

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There are a couple of energy-conserving strategies:

Steady pace:Aim to set the same minutes per mile throughout the marathon. This means holding back at the start, when you have the most energy to burn, and saving it for the end.
Reverse splits:Start out at a slow pace and increase your pace in the middle of the race, completing the miles at the end of the race faster than at the beginning. This is extremely difficult to do for a marathon distance.
Slow, fast, sag:This is the pattern most people will achieve. Start out at a slow and steady pace to warm up for the first six miles. Increase your pace in the middle of the race. Plan for the sag after mile 21, which happens to most people.

Practice your pacing during your longer practice walks. Time yourself and get to know what your steady pace feels like, how you are breathing, how it feels.

It is easy to get caught up in the excitement at the beginning of the race as the pack breaks up and you can pass others. But hold to your strategy.

You may want to invest in paced walking music tapes to train yourself to a certain pace. Some marathons don't allow headphones on the course, but by using the music in practice you can train yourself and remember the rhythm even if you can't listen during the race.

Watch your walking form throughout the race. Check yourself - are you leaning too far forward or back? Overstriding? Head down or thrust forward? As you tire, some of your bad old walking habits may creep back into your walking form. Watch for them and correct them.

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