2008
Apr - May - Jun
Magazine

MJ Baglin (right)

MJ (Mary) Baglin is one example that age is only a number. At age 60, MJ competed in the World Masters Athletics Championships in Italy, last September bringing home the gold in the Team USA 10K Walk, claiming another Gold medal for the Team USA 20K, and an individual Bronze for the 20K. She also set the record at 2:11:33, eleven minutes faster than the All American Standard.

The event was a personal best for MJ, inspiring her to new goals. She will be working harder “to race stronger, smarter, and faster” going into the World Games in Sacramento, CA., to be held in 2011.

For MJ, her love of racewalking began 13 years ago. The goal, she explained, “was to secure our sport in the Reno area.” A former runner who opted for a less taxing exercise routine, she has excelled in the sport oftentimes walking faster than some joggers. As fellow colleague Wanda Brown exclaims, “she is simply remarkable.”

This writer first featured MJ in a column written for Senior Spectrum, when she began holding weekly meetings along with other racewalkers at Virginia Lake. She taught the sport over 8 years to newly interested racewalk enthusiasts.

“Racewalking can benefit anyone who takes up this sport whether for racing or for fitness. It requires a technique that sets it apart from other sports and makes it a challenge. One must have the technique and follow the rules. The leading leg must have the knee straightened when the heel strikes the ground and through weight bearing. One foot must touch the ground at all times,” she explains. “This sport is "user friendly" as there is no pounding on your joints. All it takes is a good pair of walking shoes (low heel, wide toe box, flexible shank).”

Winning USA 20KM team on podium,
L-R: Jolene Steigerwalt, MJ Baglin,
Kathleen Frable, in Misano Adriatica, Italy, 2007.

As a board member of the Silver State Striders, a local 800 member running club, MJ was determined to establish a USA Track and Field fully judged racewalk event in the Truckee Meadows. With the help of the Silver State Striders, the PRO Racing Club in Sacramento, CA., and the Pacific Association of USATF, the 3000M official racewalk was sanctioned and held at the Reno High School track. It has been nine years since the first event.

For three years, MJ also trained and traveled to other track and field meets to become an association judge as there were no USA Track and Field judges in the area. In 2002, she began training and racing at a National level. With the encouragement of friends and coaches, she finally rose to the level of competing in last years World Games.

To learn more about racewalking or to find out how to get involved, contact Beth Price, the Silver State Striders racewalk liaison. Her e-mail is on their Web site www.silverstatestriders. The next 3000M (1.8 miles) judged racewalk will be held in August at Reno High School.

BASIC TECHNIQUE

Source: North American Racewalking Foundation

1. Most new racewalkers, especially competitive ones, want to go as fast as they can as soon as they can. You shouldn't! It takes time to develop proper technique and you should never walk faster than your technique will allow. Walking too fast too soon will usually cause you to develop a bad technique -- a technique that will significantly limit your top speed later. Be patient. Focus on proper technique in the beginning, and speed will come of its own accord. As you become more comfortable with good technique, and find you can racewalk without getting cautions or warnings from the judges. There will be plenty of time to test your speedometer.
2. 
   To easily determine step
   rate, count the number
   of times a walker’s right
   heel strikes the ground
   in one minute,
   and multiply by 2.
   Speed depends on step rate (heel strikes per minute) AND step length (distance between one heel strike and the next one -- with the opposite foot). While good results can be achieved by increasing either -- and great results achieved by increasing both -- most new racewalkers should focus on increasing their step rate first.
3. A high step rate (also referred to as quick turnover) can most easily be achieved by planting each heel just in front of the centerline of the torso (no more than 10" in front) Some quick steppers plant their heels almost directly under the torso.
4. When you begin to increase your step length, focus on increasing it behind your body rather than in front of it. The heel plant should remain in roughly the same place but, by using greater hip rotation to delay toe off, you should be able to push forward from the trailing foot longer -- thereby developing more power and speed, AND achieving a longer step length.

MJ Baglin in forefront left of the race