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News + Reviews
Judy Heller Named Masters Track Athlete of the Year
 Much to her surprise, Judy Heller, author of Walk About’s “Walk Write” column, was selected as Masters Female Track Athlete of the Year by USA Track & Field Oregon. The announcement was made on September 11, 2011.
Heller competed at the Hayward Classic in Eugene May 14, 2011, setting records for her age group (65 to 69) in the Mile with a time of 9:59 (most runners never reach this speed) and a 5k time of 32:12. Heller and several others from Oregon attended the World Masters Track & Field Championship in Sacramento, CA, in July 2011. In her age group, she finished second as an American, and fifth overall in the 5k, and first American and third overall in the 10K racewalks. She also received a bronze individual medal for her 10k finish and received the team gold medal with Donna Lafayette of Portland and Kathy Balser from Oregon and Arizona.
Heller began this year with specific time goals. When asked if she had been training hard, she offered that she had a plan and was consistent in its execution. She credits all who have influenced her over the years: family, friends, clients, mentor, coaches, and body work health practitioners — especially Clearwater Sports Medicine Clinic (www.clearh2o.org) located in Portland. She also would like to send a special thanks to her training partner who showed up in the dark, rain, and cold every week. Heller demonstrates that we never really know what we can accomplish unless we set goals, create a plan, train consistently, and take care of our bodies. “I simply had realistic time goals, never expecting to set records or receive the honor of athlete of the year,” explains Heller.
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Local Walker Reinvents a Racewalking Shoe
Reshod Casual Shoe |
Reshod Performance Shoe |
Footwear is the main piece of equipment for walkers, so, it makes sense to take a good look at what you wear. Local businesswoman and Olympic hopeful, Carmen Jackinsky, created a new midsole designed to flow with the heel-toe action of a walker’s stride. “I did not set out to start a shoe company when she began racewalking in 1986, but I couldn’t find the right shoe, so I ended up modifying my own until I got the right feel underfoot.” The design was inspired by her college physics professor who used fulcrums and levers to solve problems. She used this concept to create a “teeter totter” effect with different densities of foam. The heel section is firm for optimal stability, and the toe section contains rebounding foam to cushion the ball of the foot and facilitate forward motion.
As her passion for footwear grew Jackinsky left her paralegal career to work in Columbia Sportswear’s footwear development department. In 2008, she launched Reshod Walking Shoes and hasn’t looked back. She offers two designs. The newest model has a minimal angle for casual walking or occupational use. The original model has a steeper foam angle, which works better for performance walking. Jackinsky’s inventions have earned her two US utility patents. Walkers currently send in their old shoes to have their midsole and outsole replaced with the ReShod™ midsole. She plans to create the shoes from scratch soon.
Jackinsky is the current President of Racewalkers Northwest, a local USA Track and Field club based in Portland, OR. She coaches racewalkers and fitness walkers at Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Tektronix, and other sites in the Portland area. For more information, including a short video on these shoes got to www.reshod.com or Facebook.
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Differences in Exerstrider Walking Poles vs. Nordic Walking Poles
By Wendy Baumgardner
Using walking poles is a great way to increase your walking workout. There are different techniques to get the most benefit of anupper body and core muscle workout. Polesalso lessen the stress on the lower body. One of the techniques is exerstriding, developed by Tom Rutlin of Exerstrider.
Both the exerstriding technique and nordic walking technique, you use two poles and plant them with each step in opposition to the foot motion. When your left foot is forward, your right pole is forward, and vice versa.
Taking a step with exerstriding, you extend the pole in from and plant it in the ground with your arm extended like a handshake. Firmly plant the pole while you take a step forward with the opposite foot, and maintain the grip as you travel forward. The other pole comes forward with the opposite foot and it is firmly planted as that foot hits the ground.
Nordic walking differs in that the pole action is all from alongside the body to behind the body. It is a pushing action rather than a pumping action. The poles are kept angled backward at all times. The left pole comes forward with the right foot, but plants closer to the front of the body. As you move through the step, the pressure is kept on with a pushing action, finally releasing the pole from the hand. It snaps back into the hand as you move the pole forward for the next step.
Which technique is better? Using either technique will give you a better workout that engages upper body muscles that regular walking doesn’t. It is important to practice the techniques and actually use either planting/pumping action of exerstriding or the pushing action of nordic walking. For more information on Exerstriding vs. Nordic walking visit Bumgardner’s site a at
www.Walking.about.com. |
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