A guide to Sport Walking distances - so much more than just ultramarathons

Sport Walking isn't just about tackling ultras, you can do so much more & make any walk a Sport Walk. In this video, Roger outlines all the different distance bands and the scope within each to turn any walk into a Sport Walk, whether it's for a challenge or simply as a part of a fitness routine.
Take the 'Super Sprint' for instance - the shortest distance band - not many people would think this distance qualifies as a Sport Walk. But if you take on a hill climb challenge, chances are you'll only travel up to 5km from the start to the summit, so this is all about how you can use different distances within Sport Walking for different tests, challenges & training sessions.
Roger discusses what each distance band is useful for, both in training & for personal challenges. There are five different distance bands - 'Super Sprint', 'Sprint', 'Middle Distance', 'Marathon' & 'Ultra', giving you challenge & training scope from 5km all the way up to 100 miles.
Speaking of ultramarathons, if you're thinking about taking on one yourself, check out our online course 'My First Ultra', which gives you over four hours of indispensable advice & guidance from training to what equipment you'll need. There's a full six month training outline, advice on building the mental strength you'll need to complete a long ultra, guidance on how to stay positive when darkness falls & what to eat & drink to stay fully fuelled & hydrated. It's the definitive guide to walking ultramarathons for first timers!
Find out more here:
skillspack.tea...

[@schmidtcyclingandoutdoors6364]

NIce thank you for you video I started at 1.5 mile 3 years ago now I am up 20 mile walks 3 time a weekjust at 3hurs at a normal pace thank you for you time to explain.

[@carolinemaynard-burrows8877]

Very informative. The emphasis for Ultras is normally on running them so it is lovely to see walking being promoted. Thank you.

[@carcucov]

Interesante 😊

[@keithg9594]

Thank you for that Roger. I've been very interested in sportwalking, but I must admit I've been a bit intimidated by all the talk of 50 mile+ challenges, (the most I've done is 17 miles😞, well I am 70 next year!). I've been doing the October parkwalk at parkrun. My best at Canterbury was 42:18. Maybe you could a little video some time on the differences between race walking, power walking, hiking and sport walking. Thanks for your inspiring videos.

[@melaniebailey7210]

17 miles at 70 is amazing Keith! 😁 I know so many 70 year olds who couldn’t walk 1.7 miles, let alone 17 (and in fact, the vast majority of younger people couldn’t walk 17 miles either… or at least they ‘think’ they can’t).

[@sportwalk]

Every distance counts Keith & it’s all about what challenge means to you, so your 17 milers are just as valid & just as beneficial as someone else’s 50 miler. In fact, I think some of my best & favourite walks have been the same distance as yours, so just keep doing what you’re doing! It’s funny you should ask about a video on the differences between the different walking disciplines, as that’s on our production list for this autumn/winter. Can’t say exactly when but it’s among the next couple of videos we’ll produce! Thanks for your support. Roger

[@lilaniedionaldo3399]

This is good to try..thank you Roger

[@curtissmolen4411]

Great to see you back!

[@sportwalk]

🙂👍

[@rakhmadiavianto]

Very nice advise bro

[@brokenrulerlabs]

Appreciate this contribution to the walking conversation. I noticed right out the gate you started to talk about 5k walks up mountains or hilly terrain. Perhaps im strange, but the reason most people i talk to dont walk is simple, HEIGHTS and SKETCHY PASSES for daredevils or 25 year olds. Perhaps you can consider the turn off factor when you start talking mountains. I walk 12km a day. I avoid high bridges over rivers and gorges due to vertigo. Im sure im not the only one who has turned back after 1.5km because of sketchy terrain. Just a thought from the other 99%.

[@sportwalk]

Normally what turns people off about Sport Walking is thoughts of suffering out on the trail for 12-14 hours! Vertigo is very different to just not being drawn to a particular type of challenge though, so it’s good that you raise this. Would be helpful for us to understand if it’s just exposed terrain that’s an issue for someone with vertigo or height in general - if there’s a large smooth rounded high mountain (like in Scotland maybe), is that still problematic or just when the trail’s by the edge of a steep drop? Thanks for the tip off.

[@standrewschurchshottery9157]

Inspiring video, great to see you again. Please keep them coming

[@sportwalk]

Thank you & we will! 🙂

[@mihajlopazanin6249]

Hi, I m a big fan of your videos, thank you very much for your efforts! I haven't noticed yet any video about breathing during the walking, so could you make something dedicated to this subject, or at least write something about it? Many thanks, greetings from Croatia

[@sportwalk]

Hi Mihajlo, Dobro Došli! I’m glad you like our videos! You’re right, we haven’t done anything specifically on breathing, mainly because it’s not such a big factor as with running but you’ve raised an interesting point, so we will look at doing something on it. If we can’t get enough material to do a full video, we are planning to create a new show answering Sport Walking questions, so I would put something in that. I’m hoping we can go into production for this show in maybe March or April but I’ll post something on it when we do & when I’ve written the script & put it on the blog I’ll post that too. Thanks for your support, it’s good to have you with us! 🙂 Roger

[@mastersofmetalllc8188]

Are there any sport walking events in the US? I can't seem to find anything but race walking....which I have no interest in.

[@sportwalk]

At the moment, as far as we know, there aren’t any, unless there are running challenges that welcome walkers, like we have here in the UK. Many of our ultras suggest you can “walk, jog or run”. There may also be fun or charity fundraising walks perhaps & although they may not be specifically aimed at Sport Walkers, they could present a challenge opportunity if the distance feels right to you. To be honest, it’s very early days with general awareness of Sport Walking & it’s one of our missions - to get more challenge events open to walkers but it’s probably going to take a while for event organisers to see the opportunity in their area. The only other approach would be to have a really good understanding of your pace potential for any given distance & to then just enter run challenges where you think you can finish within the cut off. Unless they explicitly say “no walking”, there’s nothing to stop you. It’s not ideal but it is a way of opening up potential if there’s nothing else in your area - if organisers see that people want to walk & can complete the course in the cut off time, they’ll start to open up to walkers because, let’s face it, there are more people who could walk these challenges than run in most cases, so it’s a no brainer for them from a sales point of view! Longer term, we definitely want to try & help open up challenge opportunities for Sport Walkers across the globe but at the moment we’re having to focus initially on our home territory. But any support or guidance we can give to anyone trying to get events to open up or even to start events themselves we’re very keen & happy to give. Hope you find some challenges you can take on where you are & if you do, let us know & we’ll add them to our database for reference. All the best. Roger

[@APLZ1958]

That's interesting but very limiting factors are your age and weight ... Should be another chapter on Sport Walk on limiting factors to encourage the older and overweight walkers and how to manage them (nutrition, footwear, poles, performance, how to challenge yourself, etc)

[@sportwalk]

Good idea, we’ll look at what we could potentially do on that 🙂

[@Afolalu-dj2vq]

At 18 years i still don't know how to push of the toe to clear off the ground

[@sportwalk]

It should be just your natural walking action, so you could well be doing it exactly right without realising. It’s best not to push with the toe but to drive your leg strongly back, using your butt muscles for power. Your toes should flex at the end of this motion & they allow you to get a smooth walking action but you don’t need to do anything specific with them. It’s all about that leg drive. Check out our video on leg drive, it might help. Cheers. Roger

[@wayneharris1546]

Hi Roger. I am curious about lightweight packs. Do you have any recommendations?

[@sportwalk]

Hi Wayne. The best I’ve found that hold their structure well & don’t flap around when packed are Raidlight. I use their vests but I know the packs they make for ultra raids like the Marathon des Sables are highly thought of. I can’t really suggest anything for more traditional style rucksacks as I use vest type packs all the time. I know Salomon’s race packs are good too & super light & you could try Montane and Inov8. Hope you find something that fits your needs! Cheers. Roger

[@wayneharris1546]

@@sportwalk Thank you Roger for your information. You are a true gentleman

[@vitoruffalo2576]

Loyf-toyme?

[@barefoot2478]

Did 100 miles in september this year.

[@sportwalk]

Nice one! How did you get on?

[@barefoot2478]

@@sportwalk 47 hrs. The heat was crazy. 3x 1minute sleep. Heat stroke ,hallucinating but finished it. Preparation was not good. Next challenge 7x60km. 420km in a week. All for charity.

[@sportwalk]

That’s a long haul 47hrs, impressed you finished! Good luck with the next one!

[@exbankerbob1]

very useful information but please ditch the music while you are talking. it is very annoying.

[@danielsee1]

Why have the globalists cancelled far? I like to go far, never tried fur. Don't think I want to.