 |
| TO VIEW SITE SECTION, CLICK ON DESIRED SECTION LINK BELOW |
|
 |
| |
|
|
To select other pages in this course, click on a green VIEW MENU bar at
left.
|
|
|
BASIC
TECHNIQUE - SPEED
1. Most new racewalkers, especially competitive ones, want to
go as fast as they can as soon as they can. You shouldn't! It
takes time to develop proper technique and you should never walk faster
than your technique will allow. Walking too fast too soon will usually
cause you to develop a bad technique -- a technique that will significantly
limit your top speed later. Be patient. Focus on proper technique
in the beginning, and speed will come of its own accord. As you become
more confortable with good technique, and find you can racewalk without getting
cautions or warnings from the judges. There will be plenty of time to test
your speedometer.
2. Speed depends on step rate (heel strikes per minute) AND
step length (distance between one heel strike and the next one -- with the
opposite foot). While good results can be achieved by increasing either --
and great results achieved by increasing both -- most new racewalkers should
focus on increasing their step rate first.
3. A high step rate (also referred to as quick turnover) can
most easily be achieved by planting each heel just in front of the centerline
of the torso (no more than 10" in front) Some quick steppers plant
their heels almost directly under the torso.
4. When you begin to increase your step length, focus on increasing
it behind your body rather than in front of it. The heel plant should
remain in roughly the same place but, by using greater hip rotation to delay
toe off, you should be able to push forward from the trailing foot longer
-- thereby developing more power and speed, AND achieving a longer step
length.
| Some top-flight racewalkers
use very high step rates (230 steps per minute) and others use relatively
long step lengths. Most have step rates in the 190-200 spm range with step
lengths just over 1/2 their body height. |
|
|
To easily determine step rate, count the number of times a walker's right
heel strikes the ground in one minute and multiply by 2. (It is easier to
count strikes by only one foot because steps are often being taken so
quickly.)
Even though the world-class walker above is shown in slow motion, you
can sense his speed just by looking at his technique. |
|
Calculating step
length: If you know a walker's average step rate (steps per minute)
from observations during a race, and you know his or her finish time, you
can estimate the average step length during that race by the following
formula (using, as example, a 5000 meter race, a step rate of 180 s.p.m.,
a race time of 30:15 -- or 30.25 minutes, and 39.37 inches per meter):
(race length in meters) 5000
5000
(step length) = ---------------------------------- = -----------------
= --------- = 0.918 meters = 36.14 inches
(step rate) x (race time) 180 x 30.25
5445
On a track, simply divide 400 meters by the number of
steps required to complete one lap. |
The Icabod animation can not be used without written permission from Phil Howell.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(On printed copies, cut along the dotted line above and discard the menu section below.)
|
|
marks the page your are currently viewing.