# Talk to me about race walking **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 6, 2021, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132 "2021-08-06T00:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/1 "2021-08-06T00:20:47Z")
Race walking has been a thing for thirty years. People used to make fun of it, and so guess some still do. Fifty kilometres is a pretty long walk. My understanding is that one foot has to be in contact with the ground at all times. But if you slow down the Olympic competitors, particularly the ones further back, it seems that there are some periods when this is not true. With the naked eye, however, this is hard to see. So is this a scam? No doubt I’m wrong, but what is the actual rule in practice? How often are competitors booted for illegal technique? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/2 "2021-08-06T00:36:52Z")
> **[Race walking: All you need to know](https://olympics.com/en/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-race-walking)** > > What started as a high-society pastime in the Victorian era, became a constant fixture at the Olympic Games since 1904. Know the race walking rules.  _Lifting_ is the penalty of raising both feet off the ground. It has to be visible to the human eye, which can really only resolve it if it’s longer than .6 sec. If you get 3 lifting red cards you’re disqualified. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/3 "2021-08-06T00:58:17Z")
30 years? It goes back to [at least 1966](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061170/). Very entertaining movie, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/4 "2021-08-06T07:46:48Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > If you get 3 lifting red cards you’re disqualified. And, as explained to me by a walker, if you aren’t getting 1 or 2 red cards, you aren’t competing. He called it a ‘style’ event – like ballroom dancing. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/5 "2021-08-06T07:58:52Z")
The Minute Physics take on it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eTfm03T3VAE/maxresdefault.jpg "Is Racewalking a Sport?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTfm03T3VAE) Short answer: the rule isn’t that your feet can’t leave the ground. The rule is that an official while standing up and not using mirrors or other devices can’t _see_ your feet leave the ground. Which means that, in practice, racewalkers feet _will_ leave the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/6 "2021-08-06T11:51:08Z")
Any discussion of race walking must have this video. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/r4Fa7B3a0Hs/hqdefault.jpg "Speed Walker vs The Needler") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Fa7B3a0Hs) For trivia fans, see if you can spot the Oscar nominee. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/7 "2021-08-06T13:45:26Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Race walking has been a thing for thirty years. People used to make fun of it, and so guess some still do. 30 years? I was race walking when I was nine, in 1979. It’s actually quite gruelling as a long distance race, and technique is all important. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/8 "2021-08-06T14:28:58Z")
I apologize for the incorrect timing. It does look difficult. Walking fifty clicks would be gruelling at a normal pace. Never mind the crowds. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/9 "2021-08-06T14:33:31Z")
Out of curiosity I had to look up the fastest race walked mile. It’s 5;36.9. That’s amazing. In my teens I have been able to run faster than that, but in my adult years, I’ve only been able to clear a six minute mile, and that felt all out to me. I can’t imagine walking a mile twenty plus seconds faster than that. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/10 "2021-08-06T15:39:21Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > My understanding is that one foot has to be in contact with the ground at all times. But if you slow down the Olympic competitors, particularly the ones further back, it seems that there are some periods when this is not true. With the naked eye, however, this is hard to see. This whole quote was the plot of a Malcolm in the Middle Episode. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-race-walking/948132/11 "2021-08-10T03:51:16Z")
[My take](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-cut-from-the-summer-olympics/650114/98) on this. [My later take](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-olympic-sports-you-want-to-get-rid-of/681968/52) on this. My problem isn’t that it’s “not not grueling”. So is auto racing. My problem isn’t that it’s easy to make fun of. So is baseball. My problem isn’t that it imposes excessive restrictions. So does soccer. My problem isn’t that it has pedantic rules. So does golf. My problem isn’t that it encourages playing dirty, but not _too_ dirty. So does boxing. My problem is that _it’s no fun at all_. And I’ve heard nothing in the intervening years that suggests that this has changed.