Real Men WALK!!!!

Workout notes rotator cuff, squats with toe raises (2 sets), abs, 20 sit ups on the incline, weight machine (lower body), then 80 minutes of walking; much of it on the Bradley Park Hills (about 5 miles)

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Ok, I’d like to get a couple of things straight at the start:

1. I like running and have run for pleasure and run in several road races (marathons, 10K, 5K, 1 mile, etc.).
2. I know that many women love to walk, and I like that.

But, well, I remember one time I was walking past some people and a little kid said “hey dad, there is a man who is walking like a woman!” The dad looked nervous and gave a quiet “we don’t say things like that” lesson to the kid.

But the truth is that, while men are out there, lots of people see exercise walking as a women’s activity. So, I’ll make this post about men…REAL men.

So, I am going to exclude racewalkers for now. Yes, I respect race walking, and yes I’ve walked an finished judged racewalks from 1500 meters (just shy of a mile) up to 20K (12.4 miles) and I managed to make it 36.7 km into a 50K race (22 miles) prior to getting disqualified for bent knee violations. I’ve also done “soft knee ok” walks of half marathon distance and up to 24 hours (88 miles) and 101 miles unofficially.

I know something about distance walking, even if I am not good at it.

But I am going to focus on “macho” men; those guys that other guys might envy.
Ok, this list will include someone who walks in long distance races, but he is far more famous for his non-athletic accomplishments than his athletic ones.

Real Men Who Walk…

Presidents of the United States

Harry Truman

President Truman was famous for his daily strenuous walks:

Truman usually awoke at 5:00 in the morning, dressed, and took a vigorous one or two-mile walk (at the Army’s 120-steps-per-minute pace) around the White House grounds and neighborhood – wearing a business suit and tie! After an assassination attempt in 1950, the Secret Service took the President to various undisclosed locations for his daily walk. He then had a rubdown, a shot of bourbon, and a light breakfast.

He continued this when he retired and was known for it:

Coaches

He died recently, but John Wooden’s UCLA teams were outrageously successful.

He walked 5 miles almost every day:

John Wooden began his 66th year as he had begun every day since his heart attack three years ago—with a five-mile constitutional. His walks are usually uninterrupted

Joe Paterno
Coach Paterno has coached Penn State to multiple undefeated seasons and national championships.

He is also an avid walker:

Joe Paterno would like to walk again—the 25 or so weekly miles he was accustomed to before leg and hip injuries slowed him the past few years.

Jimmy Johnson
Coach Johnson won an NCAA national championship with the Miami Hurricanes and two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

From his book Turning The Thing Around, (1993, First Edition) page 39:

I am not a fanatic runner, but I am a faithful jogger. Two or three miles a day, followed by a walk back of equal or greater distance.

During training camp, he’d go on the Austin Hike and Bike trail.

Athletes
Some professional football players include fast walking in their training. One of them was Nate Newton, the huge offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys:

Tuesday is usually the players’ day off. Nate Newton always showed up on Tuesday afternoons at Valley Ranch to burn some calories and work on his stamina; maybe thirty minutes on the Stair Master and thirty more fast-walking on the treadmill.

(page 193 of Skip Bayless’ book: The Boys, 1993)

Boxers sometimes have used walking for conditioning purposes; for example Rocky Marciano (Heavyweight champ, 49-0 record) used to walk in the evenings:

marciano would run 5-6 every day without missing a day and walk up to 10 miles in the evening in the run up to a fight he would run 10 miles a day and in the last few weeks he would run 12-15 miles.
he would do loads of body weight exersizes and hit a 150 kg(300 pound) heavy bag for 1/2 an hour to 1 hour with out a break.
he had a ball on string above his bed and he would hit it to help his co ordanation he also used speed bags and other old training methods.

(The source is a deleted geocities webpage on endurance)

Retired athletes
Muhammad Ali:
From Muhammad Ali, His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser (page 452): Ali was gaining weight and getting teased about it. So he started walking 2 hours a day and trimmed down.

(note: this is an underwater shot; Ali joked that he trained by punching underwater)

George Martin, the fearsome defensive end of the New York Giants

went on a cross country walk for charity and finished.

Famous Authors
Lawrence Block is a best selling author. He is also an avid sports walker, walking marathons and ultra marathons, and has gone over 70 miles at one time:

(in this walk, Block got over 70 miles).

You can read about his walking in this book.

Scientists Michael Green is the Lucasian chair of mathematics at Cambridge; the position that Newton and Hawking held. He goes for long walks and hikes:

They began spending summers together at the Aspen Centre for Physics in Colorado, sharing a flat, going to movies, on long hikes – “lots of people in the subject walk,” says Green – and talking all the while.

So, guys, what are you waiting for? Get out there and walk; you’ll have good company.

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