The Smart Runner's Secret Weapon: Walking
Why walking isn't weakness, it's a winning strategy in triathlon.
There’s a pretty common piece of advice that I wish we could remove from our triathlon vocabulary.
“Whatever you do, don’t walk.”
I’ve seen this referenced in talks with athletes, via social media posts, and Instagram reels.
The idea is that walking during the run portion of a triathlon shows weakness. It means you’re not strong enough to keep going. In this way, walking is viewed as a failure to run.
Not only is this horrible advice, the thought-process is all wrong.
Here’s what triathlon coach Matt Dixon of Purple Patch Fitness had to say on the topic: “The saying originates from the idea of mental toughness and a belief that once you walk it will become too easy to keep walking. Instead, I encourage you to shift your lens on walking to become a catalyst to optimize run speed.”
The best advice I received from my own coach is not to view walking as a failure to run, but as an opportunity to reset and ensure you can run better, stronger, and for longer.
Seriously? I can become a better runner by walking? I don’t believe it…
Well, I invite you to stick around and find out how incorporating this tool will not only make you a more efficient and faster runner, but also make running more enjoyable.
In today’s post, we’ll cover:
How walking leads to better run performance
How to incorporate walking during training
How to use walking during a race
How walking leads to better run performance
For many athletes, the biggest challenge in a triathlon comes down to how well they can execute the run portion of the race. This is true for any distance, but especially for 70.3 and 140.6 when you’re facing a half marathon or marathon as your final event.
When athletes struggle with the triathlon run, they often think they need to run more, or run faster. But that’s not necessarily the case…
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that triathlon consists of three separate sports. Each discipline builds upon the next, so you can’t look at swim-bike-run in isolation.
In this way, how you approach the swim and bike will affect your ability to run. You can’t bike to your potential if you’ve exhausted yourself during the swim. You can’t run to your potential if you’ve used up all your energy on the bike.
Swim fitness is bike fitness is run fitness.
So poor run performance isn’t just about the run. It’s affected by a number of factors, including swim and bike fitness, pacing of both disciplines, and how well you executed nutrition during the bike leg.
*But the biggie is cumulative fatigue, which is compounded in long-distance triathlon.
We’ve all seen it. The Ironman shuffle- a never-ending line of athletes plodding along in a sad, bizarre parade, barely able to pick up their legs but too afraid to walk. Or just walking and not running at all.
That’s not what you want. But how do you get around it?
For the vast majority of amateur athletes… optimal performance on the run arrives when they have the courage to implement strategic walk breaks. Not panic or forced walking, but intelligent application of strong walking at certain intervals to enable best overall finish times in the run portion of any event.”
- Matt Dixon, Running Faster with Strategic Walk Breaks
Walking isn’t a failure to run. Walking is a tool to reset posture, regulate breathing, reduce fatigue, and lower heart rate.
For triathlon specifically, walking allows you to take in much-needed hydration and nutrition. Walking also allows you to run faster for longer periods of time and gives your joints and muscles a break from the constant pounding.
That’s all great, you might say. But I want to finish the race as fast as possible. Walk breaks will slow me down!
That’s incorrect, my friend. Buckle up, because I’m going to share some math that will blow your mind.
Let’s say you run a 9:00 min/mile pace, and you walk at a 15:00 min/mile pace.
Running 4 minutes at 9:00 min/mile covers 0.444 miles.
A 30-second walk at 15:00 min/mile covers 0.033 miles.
This cycle (4:30 total) covers 0.477 miles.
That means the average pace, including walk breaks, is about 9:26 min/mile. It’s a slowdown, but one that allows for less fatigue and better endurance over the course of a half marathon or marathon.
Now, let’s compare two IRONMAN athletes in the marathon:
Athlete A didn’t incorporate any walk breaks for the first 23 miles of the run. Towards the end, he starts to fade and has to walk a lot during the last 3 miles averaging 15:00 min/mile, which takes 45 minutes to complete.
Athlete B incorporates a 4-minute run / 30-second walk strategy from the start, averaging 9:26 min/mile, and covers the last 3 miles in 28:18 minutes.
Athlete A total time: 4:12:00
Athlete B total time: 4:07:00
Net Gain: Athlete B finishes the marathon about 5 minutes faster than Athlete A, just by pacing smarter from the start and avoiding a major late-race slowdown.
And before you think- that’s not me- I won’t slow down that much at the end of an IRONMAN marathon. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it happens to everyone- even the pros. To a lesser degree of course, but they slow down as well.
Spoiler alert: Pros also walk at aid stations.
Do you recall Chelsea Sodaro’s 2:51:45 run to win the 2022 IRONMAN World Championship on a blazing 90-degree day in Kona? She walked during aid stations, and the commentators totally freaked out. But clearly, she knew what she was doing.
No matter how fit you are, there’s no getting around the cumulative fatigue that doing a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run creates. You might have run a marathon before, but have you run a marathon after exercising for 6+ hours? That’s why taking strategic walk breaks is so important.
We’re going back to Matt Dixon one last time, because he has so many great quotes on this topic.
“Don’t forget, walking isn’t just for middle or back-of-the-packers. Some of our amateur athletes who run under 80 minutes in 70.3 distances, and sub 3 hours off the bike in IRONMAN, integrate walk breaks,” he says.
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How to incorporate walking during training
Now that we know both elite athletes and casual joggers can benefit from walking during a run, we must learn how to implement it with a smart strategy.
If you plan to use run-walk during a race, you must practice it in training. Nothing new on race day, remember?
Here are a few examples.
During a training session, I might start out a long run by walking. Oftentimes, I do a 10-minute warmup run and then stop and stretch things out before the main set. Walking works too.
If you have a hard run with intervals, you can walk the beginning of your rest period to prep for the next set. If you’re running hill repeats, you can walk/jog back down to the bottom to get ready for the next uphill.
During an endurance run, you can incorporate walk breaks as short as 30 seconds to reset form, practice diaphragmatic breathing, and lower heart rate. You could walk while taking a gel and getting a sip of water to simulate an aid station.
It’s not a big, dramatic thing, but taking strategic walk breaks of 30-90 seconds can do wonders for improving endurance, increasing comfort, and minimizing fatigue.
How to use walking during a race
Not only can you use walking during training, it’s a smart strategy for race day as well. The key here is taking strategic walk breaks.
This isn’t walking because you can’t run. It’s walking so you can continue to run.
Commit to a plan from the beginning, and walk before you need to walk. This isn’t a last-ditch effort to salvage your run; it’s an intentional plan to set yourself up for success.
Also, think about it as a reset break, not a power walk. The goal isn’t to walk as fast as possible in an attempt to minimize the slower pace. The purpose is to reset and fix any problems so you can get back to running. Take your time.
When we started talking about walking while running, your mind probably jumped to Jeff Galloway, the running coach who popularized specific run-walk ratios for different distances. While that’s certainly a strategy (ie. 1:1, 3:1, ect.) you don’t have to use a specific interval. Just use your brain.
Follow the contours of the course. If there’s a particularly steep hill, you could walk up it and run the downhill. Often times, you can walk up a steep hill at a similar pace to running it, but at a much lower cost to heart rate and muscle fatigue.
You could just walk at aid stations. This is a great strategy, because it ensures you can take in the necessary hydration and nutrition that will help get you to the end of the race. Also, the short period of active recovery lowers heart rate. Why is this helpful? You have to save those heartbeats for when you need them!
If you’re getting off the bike in a 70.3 or 140.6, you could walk out of transition for 60-90 seconds to shake off fatigue and adjust to your running position.
The moral of the story is that by incorporating strategic walk breaks into your training and racing you can run with better form, at a lower heat rate, with less fatigue, more comfortably, and run faster for longer.
It’s literally a win-win. But you must be able to rewire your brain and have the courage to walk.
If you’re looking for more tips for the triathlon run, check out Run Strong Off the Bike: 10 Tips For a Better Triathlon Run- part 3 of our 10 Tips Triathlon Series. We have 2 parts left (transition and nutrition) before the complete e-book goes live!
Remember, Triple Threat Life Club members get access to the e-book for FREE so upgrade your subscription today.
Run Strong Off the Bike: 10 Tips for a Better Triathlon Run
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Also guys I am FREEEAKING out, because…
Who is Mark Allen? His battle with Dave Scott at the 1989 Ironman World Championship is one of the most talked-about races of all time. Check out What is the Iron War? to read more.
Also, I’ve heard this book is great: Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen, and the Greatest Race Ever Run by Matt Fitzgerald. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s definitely on my list.
News & Notes:
Last night we had a practice open water swim with our local triathlon club. It was so much fun!
Training lately Some new articles are live for IRONMAN! Check out:
a. Secrets to a Smooth, Speedy Transition: 10 Tips For Triathlon Success
This is fantastic because soooo many coaches tell athletes walking will slow you down…..but if implemented properly it does the opposite as you illustrated! My fastest times are with a walk run ratio thank you for the data illustration and reminder