Having just subscribed to Skyplayer to watch the final Ashes test, fortuitously I also get Eurosport on it so I can watch some of the World Athletics Champs. Pop it on in the background this morning and the 50km walk is on. Now I love athletics of pretty much any type, but I'm never quite sure on the walk. On one hand, it seems so unnatural, all of them break the rules anyway, and covering ground most quickly from one place to the other is clearly most efficiently done by running (or on a bike 😉 On the other, all athletics events have their own contrived rules to an extent, and the guys and girls who are race walkers are undeniably incredibly fit. Thoughts?

tis what eggs & soft fruit was invented for, a bit of spectator participation is what's called for there!

It's an athletic persuit like any of the other athletic events but there's just no getting away from the fact that it looks very silly…

In fact, come to think of it, it's a bit like SSUK 🙂

I'm appalled at what they put their bodies through to avoid running, and at the same time deeply impressed at how fast they go. But the whole things is far too reliant on the technicality of keeping your feet on the ground. Or just not getting caught.

I must admit that I was thinking last night about athletics in general. I can get the 100m/200m – the quickest runner etc and I can get the 10k/marathon runs etc – the best over a long distance and all that.

But the 800m/1500m. I mean, what kind of half-assed runs are those? Neither really quick or really long. Funny really – they are the distances that the UK has probably has had most consistent success in too.

🙂

As a ludicrous sport that people only do because they would get pwned at the popular ones, it's definitely up there with singlespeeding. 🙂

a sprinter cant run 400/800/1500/5k/10k etc

a marathon runner won't run 5k or less.

although agree with the walking is rubbish idea, replace it with a proper endurance event, like 500km, teams of 3, with no suppourt, and no rules (other than sticking ROW's, avoiding A/M-roads) now that would make for a cool race and get some proper hard'nuts entering, although no doubt some SAS type would enter, walk the whole thing without sleep, and everyone else would die of exhaustion.

even the middle distances are understandable. most track and field events you can see where they stem from, in terms of "i bet i can xyz further/faster than you, etc.".

except triple jump. w. t. f?

😆

except triple jump. w. t. f?

might as well replace it with hopscotch.

What about all that nonsense in the swimming pool!

I must admit that I was thinking last night about athletics in general. I can get the 100m/200m – the quickest runner etc and I can get the 10k/marathon runs etc – the best over a long distance and all that.

But the 800m/1500m. I mean, what kind of half-assed runs are those? Neither really quick or really long. Funny really – they are the distances that the UK has probably has had most consistent success in too.

The 800 is brutal – too long to be run anaerobic but too short to relax even for a second. I'd rather the mile were run instead of the 1500m, but that's Europe for you.

yeah the 1500 used to be my event at school, and i never understood why it wasn't 1600 ie a mile ie four laps, rather than three and three quarters. 1.5km is a weird distance as it is.

it would be laughable if it didn't induce a rant (from me) everytime I see it. I'd rather see tiddly-winks in the olympics

spoon… I reckon the 400m is a sprint. The hardest sprint.

meks me laff.