Running for my Mom

Along with a large brain, thumbs, and language ability, walking upright on two legs is on the short list of attributes that separate human beings from other animals. Indeed, you could say that walking is humankind’s original exercise.But because it’s so fundamental, walking has long been taken for granted. When the ancient Greeks convened the first Olympics, fuotrnces meant running, not walking. The same mindset was still in place more than 2,000 years later, when the fitness movement started gaining momentum in the mid­1970s. Among the first fitness bestsellers was Jim Fixx’s The Complete Book of Running, not walking.

But over the last decade or so, walking has finally gained the respect it has long deserved, thanks to an avalanche of research on the health benefits of moderate exercise. In fact, most of the studies of moderate exercise use walking as their trial activity.

“Walking is one of the best ways to get fit and healthy-and stay that way,” says Glenn Gaesser, Ph.D., associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. “It requires no special training or equipment. It’s low-impact, so it minimizes the risk of injury. It’s fun to do either indoors or outdoors, solo or with friends. And it’s low-cost-even free, if you already own a good pair of walking shoes.”

Such qualities have helped to make walking America’s most popular fitness activity-five times more popular than running. But perhaps the biggest reason for walking’s broad appeal is its utter simplicity. “You’re already good at it,” observes Mark Fenton, a five-time member of the U.S. National Racewalking Team and editor-at-large for Walking magazine. “If you approach it in a more organized way, you can make it very healthful, too.”