Exercise: Walking Vs. Running

Both running and walking offer cardiovascular benefits such as lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol, and reducing weight and stress. Neither activity requires any special training or equipment. However, before you lace up your shoes and go, it is important to understand several key differences.

  1. The Facts

    • The difference between walking and running is more than simply speed. Walkers have one foot on the ground at all times, while runners are airborne at some point during every stride. The faster the running pace, the more time the runner spends airborne. This flight component makes running a high-impact activity, since each stride's landing subjects a runner's body to a stress up to three times his or her body weight.

    Racewalking

    • Racewalking is a technique used in specialized distance events. During these events, one foot must stay on the ground at all times. If both feet leave the ground at any time, the walker is disqualified. Because their stride is necessarily shorter than that of runners, the competitive racewalker must achieve and maintain a very fast stride rate. Competitive racewalkers can power right past slower runners at a pace of eight minutes per mile or faster.

    Calorie expenditure

    • In general, the faster you go---the higher your calorie burn rate. Running at six miles per hour for 30 minutes will burn more calories than walking for the same 30 minutes at 3 miles per hour. It makes sense, because the runner also travels twice the distance as the walker under those circumstances. However, the calorie-burn equation is not always clear-cut. There comes a point (about 5 miles per hour) in which running is more efficient than walking. Attempting to walk faster (as in racewalking) actually will burn more calories than running. The number of calories burned will depend on a person's walking or running efficiency, body weight, and environmental factors such as weather and terrain.

    Injury potential

    • Because of the high impact nature of running, joints and muscles are subjected to greater stresses from running than walking. Therefore, running poses a somewhat greater risk of injury to muscles and joints. However, the high impact nature of running also serves to strengthen bone, making runners less susceptible to bone loss later in life. Walkers are not immune from injury either, although it is easier on the joints. The risk of injury from either activity can be reduced using proper footwear, stretching and strength training. Whether walking or running, it is important to increase mileage gradually so that the body can become accustomed to the stresses of the new activity.

    Shoes

    • The most important piece of equipment for walkers and runners is a good pair of shoes, which need to be specific for the activity type. Walking shoes are usually heavier and stiffer than running shoes, because walking does not require as much foot flexibility as running. Running shoes require a good amount of cushioning, because of the greater impact of each stride, however, lighter shoes are easier to move. Runners typically look for the lightest weight shoe that provides a sufficient amount of cushioning and support for their feet and stride.