Does Walking Help Running? 9 Absolute Benefits!

As a running coach, I’m about to surprise a lot of you by saying you need to walk more! Believe that walking and being a runner aren’t compatible?

Real runners don’t walk?? Right?!

Or do they! This is not about run-walk intervals. Where you run for say 2 minutes, walk 1 minute, repeat.

This is about adding walking to your routine. Specifically we are usually talking about power walking.

While a stroll with friends is ALWAYS good, this is about walking too boost your fitness.

Many years ago, I started putting walking on the training plans of my runners. Sometimes it was walking after a long run and sometimes it was power walking on an active recovery day. Initially there is always some push back and then along the way a shift.

A realization that the walk is actually ENJOYABLE and that they’re seeing more progress in their runs.

Let’s answer this big question is walking good for runners by looking at the benefits, exactly how you might incorporate it and what results you’ll get.

9 Ways Walking Helps Running

Too many runners turn their nose up at walking, thinking it’s only something you do once you’ve slammed head first into the dreaded wall. Instead it’s time to realize you could reap some major endurance benefits from slowing down.

Adding some walking to your routine might just help you run farther and faster by building leg strength, increasing lung capacity, reducing stress and burning extra calories.

Walking Improves Endurance

I’ve talked repeatedly in pre-run warm ups about the use of walking. It’s been shown to help you run farther in that session!

A 2017 study examined doing nothing vs doing a warm up that included some very EASY jogging and walking. The warm up group “elicited increases in physiological variables VO₂ and HR prior to performance.”

In other words, by doing a warm up they improved their performance. This is a super easy way to ease your body in to your workouts so that all of your muscles, your lungs, your joints feel ready to move and thus are requiring less energy.

Checkout my full dynamic warm up for runners >>

Walking Extends Your Training Time with Less Injury Risk

It sounds simple, but if the goal of endurance training is to teach your body how to go for longer then that’s exactly what walking does! Simply adding a 1/2 mile warm up walk and a 1/2 mile cool down walk means you have added an entire mile to every single training session that week.

Your body isn’t working as hard during that time, but you’re still moving. You’re still consuming energy and spending time on your feet.

Both body and brain are thus becoming more accustomed to longer duration.

“While walking takes longer, it will bestow the same endurance as running, while reducing injury risk. – learn how to do it!” Love that Jeff Galloway quote!

Power Walking Works the Same Muscles

Unlike other cross training for runners that is geared towards working different muscles, walking is only going to continue enhancing the muscles running works.

Your glutes have to continue firing to give you that power in your push off. Your quads are still bracing you on a downhill. Your core is still engaging to help you maintain good posture.

Incline Walking Improves Glute Strength

Let’s touch more on this glute strength piece because for some of you a hard incline treadmill walk might be more beneficial than yet another easy run.

Glute activation is a huge component of injury prevention for runners.

Uphill workouts force your glutes, quads and calves to recruit twice as many muscle fibers as moving forward on a flat surface. That makes hill walking an incredible way to get in a more intense low impact workout on days you may not feel like you have enough energy to run or when you are training for a hilly race!

Walking Can Improve Lower Back Pain

“New research from the University of Texas School of Public Health studied 218 marathon and half marathon participants and found that they run almost an hour daily, but sit for seven to 10.75 hours per day.

What’s more, other studies show that even an hour or two of exercise each day does not offset the damage of sitting down the rest of your waking hours.” – Runners World

So yes, just taking the time to add in some small walk breaks during the day is going to help with a lot of the muscles aches and tightness that you might be feeling during your runs.

Walking is Lower Impact for Recovery Days

Active recovery is a huge piece of marathon training. While some days you need to completely rest, most often taking a walk or doing movement that doesn’t spike your HR on recovery days improves the training effect.

It’s about enjoying these walks as time to simply move your body. Keeping the blood flowing and preventing muscle stiffness or even working through some muscle soreness from running (DOMs).

Walking Increases Foot Strength

Walking moves your foot through the full range of motion. You land with your heel then roll all the way forward to push off the ball of the foot. While in running you are landing more on the forefoot without that same full roll through.

This is going to help maintain flexibility and of course more time on your feet means simply increasing that overall foot strength.

Walking is Easier to Sneak in During the Day

For years when I worked in an office, I would try to sneak in a lunch run. That meant somehow changing, running, stopping the sweat, changing back and eating in a 60 minute window.

It’s just not always possible.

But you can swap your work shoes for some walking shoes and snag 15 minutes here and there or a 30 minute lunch walk that doesn’t leave you needing a shower. This is now part of my every day routine!

Where to add walking in your training?

• Walk on rest days as active recovery which is both low impact and beneficial to your run
• Add 10-20 minutes at the end of your long run which will increase the total mileage and time on your feet, but without the added injury risk of running past your limits
• Walk to do errands, walk around the office, pace on the phone
• Walk in place of a run when you are injured or under the weather. Double the time your run would take for the walk.
• Walk with your friends and family over the holidays, instead of vegging out with the TV

If you’ve been focusing on 10,000 steps a day or trying to close your Apple Watch rings, that’s often a fun way to encourage yourself to get in more miles.

Checkout this fun little chart of how many steps in a mile running or walking!

 

What About Walking to Run?

While the focus of this article is on pure walking, don’t think that run-walk intervals are only for newbies. You can read my complete breakdown of the Galloway Method here >>

• It works for runners of all levels from beginners to Ironmen
• For new runners walking breaks allows the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems to recover while building endurance.
• For injured runners it reduces the risk of overuse and can be a great mental relief in returning to running.
• In the summer months it allows the heart rate to drop reducing effort
• Many a runner has BQ’ed with this method and swears it kept them injury free {as I always say there is no one right method, be open to testing what works for you}

All right now you can easily answer the question does walking help running? Yes! Emphatically it’s an overlooked component of a great training plan.

Looking for more fun walking tips??

• How many steps are in a mile?
• How far did I run?
• Guide to Walking a Half Marathon
• How to Buy the Perfect Treadmill
• Training Plan to Walk a Marathon
• Best Treadmill Running Shoes

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