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Race walking

Race walking is an athletics discipline. Athletes must maintain visible contact with the ground and keep the advancing leg straightened from first contact until vertical; speed counts only with legal technique.

LevelVariant FamilyAthletics CategoryAthletics

AI-generated illustration: Race walking — AI-generated illustration

Classification

Category Athletics

Family Athletics

Level Variant

Getting started

Kurzbeschreibung Athletics endurance discipline with strictly regulated walking technique.

Geeignet für Suitable for people who like endurance, technique feedback and even pacing.

Cost Low: good running shoes and a flat route are enough for technique entry. Shoes, club fee, training plan and possible entry fees. Athletics club, race-walking group, track session or running group with technique feedback.

First progress Rhythm comes quickly; legal pace under fatigue takes training.

Fitness level medium to high

Was du brauchst

running shoes
flat route or track
technique feedback
training plan

First steps

understand contact rule
walk short technique intervals
practise arm drive
get video/coach feedback
build distance slowly

Athletics club, race-walking group, track session or national race-walking programme.

Increase calf, hip and shin load gradually and reduce pace if pain appears.

Weitere Angaben

Tags individual, outdoor, einzeln, race-walking, world-athletics, walking, track-and-road, gehen

Rules and format

Die Grundlagen

Ziel

Walk a distance as fast as possible while remaining legal.

Teilnehmer

Individual starters in track or road races.

Teamgröße

Individual; team scoring may exist by event.

Spielfeld

Athletics track or measured road course.

Dauer

Distance-dependent by track/road format.

Wertung

Time result, provided technique remains legal.

Gewinnbedingung

Fastest valid time.

Ausrüstung

running shoes
bib
track/road course
timing

Wichtige Regelpunkte

visible loss of contact
bent advancing knee
false start
leaving course

Regelquellen

Federations and sources

Federations

World Athletics (WA)
World Athletics (WA)

Competition and Technical Rules World Athletics · rulebook · high
Race Walking: A Guide to Judging and Organising World Athletics / IAAF · official · high
20 Kilometres Race Walk World Athletics · official · high