in defense of the slow

It's bad enough with the stuff you hear in your head: you're too slow to be competing, you're too fat to be in technical fiber clothing, walking isn't real athleticism-- as well as the discomfort and pain of feet that feel like hamburger, of being far too aware of your hamstrings, of feeling the chafing of your hydration pack, or the seam of your shorts, or where you forgot to bodyglide. That's bad enough.

Then there's Walking the Walk, in this month's Runner's World. I learned about this from Marshall's Walking Distance. Over all, the article was balanced, but it comes as a rude shock to read some of the hurtful comments that some runners make.

Yes, I am an amateur, a hobbyist -- but I've been as serious in my training as any runner. I get the distance in on the weekends, I walk seriously 4 days a week, and I cross-train to build my endurance. I work out at the gym to build my core strength, and to enhance my upper body strength. I haven't missed a Saturday walk since the beginning of June.

I'm out there when it's hot and when it's cold and when it's wet. I've gone from couch potato to dedicated walker -- and I'm not strolling! How dare someone say that walking a marathon is a "cop-out for an underachieving society".

Yes, I know someone who walked the marathon without training for it, and I know people who do marathons as a bit of a lark -- but isn't that also the case with runners?

In the events that I've done, I've not had a runner, or a spectator, make a cruel remark. Heaven knows they could have, especially in the beginning. I'm pleased by how supportive runners have been. And because I've been protected, it's just a shock how vehemently some runners feel about walkers.

Cathie Nagle made this comment, and it ran true for me: "If the faster runners have a problem, I suspect a deeper prejudice or discrimination against overweight or out-of-shape people. If that's the case, shame on you. I for one applaud anyone who toes the starting line, especially those people who take six to eight hours."

I'm hoping to do the marathon in 7.5 hours. That would be a fifteen minutes off my half-marathon times, so for me, if I can make that, it'll be a great achievement. Yeah, it'll be slow, but it'll be fast for me, and that's what counts.