FRONT COVER: Alex Wright on his way to winning his first National Senior title at the European Trials - completing a string of incredible performances, along with other walkers who have reversed the fortunes of the sport. PHOTO: by Mark Easton Editorial Race Walking is yet again getting busier and busier. With more races being held, new people trying the sport, performances improving all over and many new developments in progress, the sport will soon be facing different challenges to the ones we have long worried about. With the Olympics coming up and a constantly increasing profile in the media, we can only become busier and more popular, and more people will be needed. Many people give a lot of their time to the sport, appearing at events up and down the country, facing endless administration tasks, promoting walking events, coaching young athletes, timekeeping, judging, lap-counting, etc. And not forgetting the young athletes themselves, some of whom are now doing two or three training sessions per day, often over 50 hours per week, trying hard to reach the levels we encourage them to achieve. No, I don’t consider myself one of the twenty busiest people in race walking in this country! I wouldn’t like to name all the individuals who put so much into the sport, as I’d undoubtedly miss out many people who do incredible amounts of work but keep a low profile. It’s thanks to the many, many hard working people that we have finally become a sport to be proud of again. And we will need more people doing whatever they can to help out, so when you aren’t walking, please consider what else you can do, and offer to help out at a race! Magazine info Race Walking Record (founded 1941) is the international magazine for the sport of walking and walking events, published each and every month. Issue: 804 – “May” 2010. Subscriptions: UK £30, International £40, PDF by email £20. Advertisements: Full page £40, half page £20. Club advertisements: Full page £20, Half page £10. Editor: John Constandinou, 60 Claverdon Drive, Birmingham B43 5HP. Website: www.racewalkingrecord.net Contributors: John Constandinou, Mark Easton, Pat Reeves, Phil Howell, Ron Wallwork, Michael George, Eric Horwill, Dave Ainsworth, Peter Hannel, George Smolinski, Brian Adams, Rob Elliott, Andi Drake, Ian Richards. Please post all news, results, announcements, letters, photos and articles to me or email them to [email protected] 5 - Features 5 - Nutrition Contents 7 - Results and Reports 2 - Editorial/Magazine info 26 - International 3 - News 28 - Letters 4 - Announcements 35 - Fixtures Holding race walk events in high profile News places in front of the public is now seen as better than in a park or around a British Record for Johanna stadium. Although the walkers will not get a stadium finish, fans will no longer have Jo Jackson set a new record for 20k in the to choose between watching only the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in La stadium finish or the bulk of the race Coruna, Spain on the 19th June. Johanna outside instead, and it is thought that the broke her own record in a world class field, increased exposure for the sport will finishing in 1:30:41 an improvement of 35 result in more people taking up the sport. seconds on her pervious record of 1:31:16 set in Lugano a year ago. The official course map is on the back cover of this magazine. Alex Wright - Star Race Walker Eric Tysse Fails Dug Tests Alex was voted Athlete of the Month at Leeds Met University for June 2010, after The Norwegian Athletics Federation says making incredible breakthroughs as a senior race walker Erik Tysse has tested athlete at the age of just 19. He won the positive for doping and has been Inter Counties 3km title in Bedford in time suspended from all competitions. Tysse 11.38 (9th on the UK All Time List) and tested positive for blood booster CERA at three weeks later at Bedford he was 3rd in a competition in Italy in May. An analysis the European Athletics Permit Meeting over at a laboratory in Rome showed both the 20km (1st Brit) in 85.46 - the fastest time by "A'' and "B'' samples were positive for a British Athlete since 2002, putting him CERA. 14th on the All Time list and the fastest ever time by a British teenager. This was also At a news conference in Oslo a tearful well inside the England qualifying time of Tysse denied having used illegal drugs 90.00 for the Commonwealth Games in and questioned how the test had been Delhi and he is now ranked 4th in the analyzed. He said he had "nothing to Commonwealth in 2010. Finally, he took his hide" and would fight to clear his name. first National Senior Title over 5km in Tysse was fifth in the 50-kilometer race Birmingham at the Aviva European Trial and at the Beijing Olympics. UK Championships in a PB of 20.11. RWR Archives Born 2012 Olympic Walks Venue Thanks to Doug Fotheringham The venue for the London Olympic Walks responding to an appeal for old will almost certainly be The Mall, between magazines, the electronic archives of this Buckingham Palace and Admiralty Arch. magazine are now taking shape online, The lap will be a flat 2km, and pass the so that future generations will have a official residence of the Queen - who may wealth of research material freely be watching. available for ever. The policy on where to hold major walking The very first ten issues of Race Walking events shifted last year, during the World Record ever published (1941-1942) are Athletics Championships held in Berlin. The now online. Rather than dated material, Berlin race walks were held through the the original magazines actually make Brandenburg Gate, and gained huge public fascinating reading, and were very interest. professionally produced. While we are now looking back as far as the 1940’s, they in turn are looking back to the latter half The new records section has been of the nineteenth century, showing that race developed with Bob Care, and has so far walking is a long established sport in this received positive feedback. It is still in its country. early stage, so any missing records or mistakes will quickly corrected when There were paper shortages during World identified. War 2, that meant RWR was quite thin in some months, but there is substantial news RWR Parish Special 2010 of racewalks including many in the UK, and overseas in Palestine and the Delhi Sikhs For the second time, Race Walking 14 miles, along with annual walks that still Record has produced a special souvenir take place today that surprisingly had large magazine for the Parish Walk. The 36 fields for a country deep at war. July 11th page magazine was designed to try and 1942 had 200 start the Southern 5 Miles. encourage some of the 1,710 walkers to have a go at other race walks. Due to A photo of the 1936 Olympic Games trials confusion last year, RWR subscribers held in Derby, and profiles of walkers of the can request that a free copy be emailed day make fascinating reading. Images of the to them. first ten issues can be seen on the back cover of this magazine. Resources for Coaches Announcements Access to the IAAF Race Walking video for UKA Hall of Fame 2010 UK based walks coaches has been secured by England Athletics. It is at the UKA Please vote for Ken Mathews in the UKA coaching website: 2010 Hall of Fame. Voting is only http://coaching.uka.org.uk/video/iaaf-race- available online, and a link is available on walking-video1/ RacewalkUK. Ken missed out last year and will form the start of what will hopefully but is being included again this year be a growing centre for race walking possibly due to significant votes from resources for coaches. Please spread the walkers. Competition this year is very word around the coaching fraternity if they stiff, so if you do vote for Ken, please want a ready resource for use to promote don't vote for the popular opposition... the event and also as a good coaching reference. Dodontocht 100km Death March Martin Rush Belgium National Coach Mentor - Endurance England Athletics There are a few spaces available on a weekend coach trip heading to the 100km 24 hour Death March in Bornem, Records Online nr Antwerp, Belgium. Leaving Bristol Thursday 12th August and returning A new section has been added to the Sunday 15th August, with pick-ups website as a central information point for between Swindon & Dover. 100k walk in walkers. It contains over 300 records, 24 hours starts Friday at 9pm. Travel including British, World, and Masters cost is £87. Contact: Andy Bodman, records for various distances. More records [email protected] or info will be added over time including European, from Dave Hoben. …Your editor will be Country, County, and Championships walking this event. Records. Health Problems Following on from last month's input relative to enzymes, l will now focus on a On 17th June Ron Wallwork was an sub-group - namely proteolytic enzymes. emergency admittance to West Suffolk Hospital with a pulmonary embolism. Ron is All athletes endure injuries from time to now recovering well. time. These cause obvious set-backs in training and likely cost us to pull out of Brian Laver RIP competing - or give us a poorer ranking status. BRIAN LAVER has died in his mid-50s.