Race walking is a sport and an athletic event covering a wide range of distances on road or on the athletic track.

The 17th and 18th centuries saw the emergence of 'pedestrianism' - borne out of the footmen who would run or walk by the side of their masters' coaches. Increasingly, wagers were bet between the upper class gentlemen as to whose footmen could 'walk fair heel and toe on the turnpikes, heaths, downs and race courses of England' and this became very popular with races up to 24 hours and even 6 days.

Competition between footmen gave way during the 18th century to men racing against time over long distances. The most famous and celebrated wager was that of Captain Robert Barclay  who, in 1809, walked 1 mile every hour for 1000 miles taking 1000 hours for 1000 guineas on Newmarket Heath. This event captured the publics' imagination like no other previous sporting event.

Race walking was born!

With the increase in popularity of the sport came various rivalries as to who should organise the sport. On Saturday 24 April 1880, 28 delegates representing the Northern Counties Athletics Association (AA), the Midlands Counties AA and all the main athletic and cross country clubs in the South attended a meeting at the Randolph Hotel, Oxford. They agreed to a set of "Objects of Association" and the Amateur Athletic Association (the "three As" - AAA) was established. A set of competition rules were established and listing just 16 Rules. The first Championships were held that year.

The  Southern Counties Amateur Athletics Association of England was formed in 1883. The rules of race walking gradually became standardised during the 19th century with the first English Amateur Walking Championships being held in 1866.

In the19th century the popularity of pedestrianism and race walking soon spread to Europe and later to America and Russia.

With their strong English roots, Americans were quick to import this new sport in the early 19th century. In many cases, an exceptional pedestrian would come into a community and challenge the best local walker to a race. Matches typically covered distances from a quarter mile to thirty miles, and drew crowds as large as 25,000 along the race route.

This "golden age" of pedestrianism was due, in large measure, to the exploits of Edward Payson Weston, a reporter for the New York Herald and a long-distance walker in his own right. Weston stimulated great interest by walking 1,136 miles from Portland, Maine, to Chicago in thirty days in 1867.

As a result of Weston's walk, communities began to build walking arenas and to install indoor tracks wherever possible. Each town had its local champion, and major competitions began to appear. American and English champions crossed the Atlantic in search of national bragging rights.

In 1888, Sir John Astley, MP and sports enthusiast, helped create a "Long Distance Championship of the World"  which became known as the "Astley Belt Races".

One particular rule, however, did help to bring about the demise of pedestrianism. Instead of following the established rule of "fair heel and toe", participants could compete as "go as you please", In effect, this meant that they could run or walk in any fashion. The Astley Belt Races covered six days and were very popular, but in time, walking was phased out as running was phased in.
(Six day races still exist today in the running community, where runners do in fact resort walking to be able to complete the event)

Race walking and the Olympic Games:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was formed in 1893, and the modern Olympic Games were inaugurated in 1896. In 1904, an 800-yard walk was added as one element in the "all-rounder" event which was the forerunner of the present-day decathlon. The race-walk first appeared as a separate event during the unofficial "Interim Olympic Games" in 1906 (the only time they were held). Then, at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, race walking was officially added as a unique event.

The standard Olympic road walking distances of 20km and 50km have been contested at each Olympics since 1956; the women compete at 10km.

Race Walking was always a popular event at Championship events in England and was a feature of most meetings and the Southern Counties.

A Road Walking Association was formed at a London restaurant in November, 1907 'to develop and control race walking for men in the South of England'.  A separate Road Walking Association was formed, organised into Northern, Midlands and Southern Areas.

The RWA played a central role in the promotion and development of race walking not only in England but in the discipline's spread and growth in popularity throughout the world.

Race Walking was introduced in the Commonwealth Games in 1966 and race walking distances have been part of each World Championships in Athletics. The women’s walking event was extended from 10km to 20km for the 1999 World Championships.

Whilst the RWA has also been at the forefront of the development of women's race walking, with Edith Trickey becoming the first Women's Amateur Athletics Association Race Walking Champion in 1923, it was several decades, almost 90 years later (the 1990's )before the RWA recognised a separate Long Distance Championship (100 miles in 24 hours) for women. It has still to do the same for the 50km distance.

 
In the United States, walking has enjoyed a surge of popularity as power or speed walking. People of all levels of fitness realise the potential value of using walking as part of their fitness programme. (see Why Walk?)
In the UK, the annual Moonwalk has seen power walking hit the streets of London in such numbers, second only to the London marathon. Sadly the participants of the Moonwalk don't join our walking clubs.

The RWA is affiliated to UK Athletics (UKA) which is the governing body of all athletics in this country and it celebrates it 100 years of governance in 2007 - the oldest race walking governing body in the world.

Race Walking Association dinner