Introduction

General requirements

• Durable. With one exception, equipment that quickly wears out is of little use. The exception is that it is sometimes convenient to have non-durable equipment. For example, you may be competing in a point-to-point marathon and have no-one to carry your surplus clothes from the start-line to the finish-line. You could buy some very cheap and non-durable gear and discard or donate it at the start-line
• Functional. The equipment does what it is intended to - do those expensive mittens keep your hands warm, does that sun hat keep the sun off your face and will the elastic in your shorts last?
• Reasonable price. An obvious requirement, but as happens in most endeavours, there is a trade-off here between cost and quality.
• Reasonably light. This refers to equipment you wear or carry including wet weather clothes and containers for water, and any equipment you might have to travel with on public transport when going to an event far afield.
• Quick to use. You are going to lose enough time through physical and psychological shortcomings, there is no sense adding to this loss by having equipment that is not quick to use.

Shoes

Before doing that, we would like to make three general comments:

• There is little advantage in getting shoes especially designed for racewalking - running shoes are perfectly adequate.
• Many walkers have more than one pair of shoes and alternate pairs on consecutive days of training.
• Don't try to save money by wearing shoes that are past their 'used by' date. The dollars saved will likely be lost with plenty of interest incurred by injuries and the subsequent down time.

The important features a pair of shoes should have are:

• The sole should be very flexible - 'they should fold up like a wallet and fit in your pocket' - an exaggeration but the metaphor is apt. Stiff soles or even moderately stiff soles such as those in most dress shoes stop your foot from functioning as it should, tiring you feet and reducing your speed. If you enjoy hiking and you wear boots with a stiff sole, you might try running shoes on your next hike, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much more enjoyable the hike is.
• Low heel. In all forms of walking, the heel of your leading foot contacts the ground, then you roll forward on to the ball of your foot and push off from your toes. If the heels of your shoes are high, you will roll forward on to the ball of your foot too quickly. As an experiment, walk 50 strides in your running shoes, then change to a pair of boots and walk another 50 strides and feel the difference in how you roll onto the ball of your foot.
• Large toe box. The smaller the toe box, the more likely you will get blisters and the like from toes rubbing against one another. A small toe box also prevents your toes from functioning correctly when you drive off from your toes.
• Large enough for your foot to expand. Our feet slowly expand as we walk and after a long walk our feet can be one or more shoe sizes larger than when you started. The same thing happens with ultrarunners. Hence, when buying shoes you should err on the large size. The shoes may feel loose at the start of a walk but it will not be long before they feel just right. In races, some walkers have shoes of two different sizes. They start wearing the smaller shoes and switch to the larger shoes during the race.

  The expansion of your foot during a single walk comes mainly from fluid pooling in your foot. During a walk, either in training or a race, you can reduce this pooling by stopping, flipping onto your back, raising your legs vertically or nearly so, and holding for a couple of minutes. In fact, this technique is a good thing to do after any long walk.

  You may have noticed that in the previous paragraph we said 'during a single walk'. This was to distinguish the expansion from that that occurs for many people over their walking career. As you train more, your foot adapts by growing stronger and longer ('the human body is a marvellous biomachine'). One ultrarunner said his foot grew from a 9 1/2 to an 11.

  You can get a measure of the swelling that occurs on a single walk the next time you take a long flight, say Auckland to Los Angeles. At the start of the flight take you shoes off and leave them off until just before you land. Even if you have done short bouts of walking during the flight, always a good thing to do, you'll probably find your shoes are tight to put on at the end of the flight.

Clothing

• A sun hat. Two possibilities here are:
  • A hat with a wide brim right round. A chin strap to prevent the hat blowing off in the wind can be useful, although you may find the strap, particularly if you are sweating, will rub. The rubbing can probably be prevented by wearing the chin strap loosely.
  • A hat akin to that worn by the stereotype French Legionnaire. This hat has a peak (bill) and fabric that hangs down covering the nape and the side of the head from the temples back. If you can not find a suitable hat, you could add fabric to a baseball cap. If you attach the material with velcro, you can remove it when the sun is not shining.

  A baseball cap alone is unsuitable because it provides no sun protection for the sides of the head and the nape. A floppy hap of the type used by cricketers is better but unless it is very large does not provide enough sun protection for the nape.

  With any sun hat, it is useful to have ventilation meshes on the sides just above brim.

• A warm hat for cold weather. Some people like to wear a wide, warm head band that looks like a hat with the crown cut out.
• A balaclava for very cold weather such as during a Canadian winter. A wide, warm head band can be used instead.
• Sun glasses to
  • protect your eyes from strong sunlight;
  • stop the sun from shining in your eyes when the sun is low in the sky;
  • reduce the glare from sunlight reflecting of the running surface - this glare makes a walk less enjoyable and can lead to a headache through eye strain;
  • avoid having to squint during driving rain. If it is at night, you can wear a pair of safety glasses.

  It is a good idea to put a cord on your glasses to prevent them falling to the ground.

• Covering for you torso. A common idea is to use a three-layer approach:
  • Inner layer: made of material whose main function is to wick (transport) sweat away from you skin.
  • Middle layer: this is often called the thermal layer and is intended to keep you warm in the absence of wind and most cases in the absence of precipitation.
  • Outer layer: this is waterproof or windproof or both; it also helps to keep the heat in on cold days when there is no wind or precipitation.

  If the temperature is mild and there is no wind or precipitation, you'll probably need just the inner layer. A bit cooler, you might have an inner and middle layer, or you might wear two inner layer tops. If the temperature is mild and there is wind or precipitation, you could try an inner and outer lay.

  There are many variations in the tops for the inner and middle layers:

  • short-sleeved (above the elbow), medium-sleeved (below the elbow), long-sleeved (down to the wrist)
  • polar neck, turtle neck, round neck, V neck
  • the material for the inner layer - polypropylene or the newer capilene is popular
  • the tightness of the fit
  • the colour
    • if you train at night, a light colour affords more visibility than a dark colour
    • light colours should keep you a little cooler in hot weather and attract fewer bugs.
  • the length - does it come down just to your belly button or is meant to tuck in, if the latter make sure it is long enough

  Most walkers have several tops and if the weather is cold wear more than one layer, such as a short-sleeve top over a long-sleeved one. Seams shouldn't cause any rubbing.

  In temperate climates a nylon parka will often be sufficient for the outer layer. The parka should have a hood and probably should be light rather than dark in colour. If the parka is a mass-produced one, it may be necessary to do some customising to reduce areas of chaffing. If the parka has pockets on the side, you may find your hand catches the lip of the pocket as the hand is swinging through. This difficulty can be avoided by wearing the parka inside out or by adding zips to the pockets or possibly even removing the pockets.

• Shorts. There are a number of points to consider here.
  • Do the shorts have a liner or do you need a separate garment?
  • What material are the short made of? A material that does not hold water is good.
  • What pockets do the shorts have? The possibilities include
    • a fob pocket on the inside for holding keys and money
    • small sleeves or tubes on the outside for holding gels and food sticks
• Long tights
  • Colour
    • It is more difficult to assess the straightness of the leading leg when a walker is wearing multi-coloured tights than when wearing single-coloured tights. Hence in fairness you should wear single-coloured tights.
• Socks
  • Material
    • How well it prevents blisters?
    • How much water it retains during rain?
  • Length
    • Short socks weight less. The difference in weight between short and long socks is not much. However, one gram on your foot is reportedly equivalent to four or five grams on your back
  • Socks should have as little elastic as possible.
  • Socks should have no seams
• Gaitors. These are short tubes of material that cover your ankles and the top of your shoes. They are intended to prevents stones and mud from entering your shoes. These were originally intended for use on trails, but they are useful on
  • athletic tracks made of cinder
  • sidewalks (these often have small pebbles on them)

If you walk at night, you should reflective material and possibly wear a light that clips on to the waistband of you shorts. The reflective material can be

• a vest or bib that traps little heat
• a waist band
• a waist and diagonal band. The diagonal goes from one side of the waist at the back, over the opposite shoulder and back to the waist at the front.
• a band around each ankle.

Containers

• liquid
• food
• clothes
• simple first aid kits (see below)
• navigation material: instructions, map, possibly a compass
• money: cash, credit cards (with a low limit in case you lose it)
• identification: drivers licence
• simple repair kits
• simple emergency kits

The types of containers include:

• Water bottles.
• A small pouch with zip or other fastener on the inside of the crown of you hat. This pouch has to be constructed so it does not cause rubbing.
• A small pouch on a cord around the neck.
• Small backpack. A good backpack will
  • be light, under 500 grams, it may be necessary to make the backpack yourself or customise a manufactured one to achieve this low a weight
  • not bounce a lot, a waist strap helps
  • prevent the contents from digging into the walker
  • prevent chaffing
  • have reflective material on the back
• A waist pack. Along with water bottles, a waist pack is probably the most common form of container. A good waist pack will
  • be light, under 300 grams
  • not bounce a lot
  • have no pouches on the side of the hips - if these pouches have objects in them, you arm will be prevented from swinging correctly
• A bladder for holding water, with a drinking tube attached. Bladders are usually not needed unless there is a long distance between water supplies, say more than 20 kilometres. The bladder can be in a back pack, in a waist pack, or in a vest
• A vest. This can have lots of pockets for holding objects and a bladder for holding water.
• A wrist band with a pouch in it.
• Hand held water bottles. These can have wrist strap to remove some weight from the walker's hands.
• A finger pouch. These are used to hold small objects such as keys, money and sweets.
• A sock pouch. Used for the same purposes as a finger pouch.

First aid

A first aid kit you carry typically includes materials

• to prevent and cure blisters
• to prevent chaffing
• to prevent sun burn
• to handle fauna such
• for special medical needs

Some walkers include anti-inflammatory and painkilling tablets.

A first aid kit you leave enroute can be far more substantial, although if you have to travel by public transport to get to the event, you may have to limit the size of the kit.

Equipment for a track event

• be collapseable
• not tip over in winds. If the table is sitting on grass or dirt, a tent peg can be push into the ground beside each table leg and cord used to tie the legs to the pegs.

Equipment for a training walk of a few hours

Warm weather

• a hat for sun protection
• a top
• shorts
• socks
• shoes
• sun glasses
• and if walking at night, reflective material and possible a light

• water
• a small first aid kit
• a toilet paper
• money
• food
• powdered electrolytic drink
• a nylon parka with hood
• possibly a cellphone

Cold weather

• a hat for warmth
• a long-sleeved top
• gloves
• shorts and tights
• socks
• shoes
• and if walking at night, reflective material and possible a light

• water
• a small first aid kit
• a toilet paper
• money
• food
• powdered electrolytic drink
• nylon parka with hood
• possibly a cellphone

Very cold weather

• a balaclava
• several layers of tops
• good mittens
• a pair of tights and a pair of longs over these
• two pairs of socks
• possibly sun glasses
• and if walking at night, reflective material and possible a light

• water
• a small first aid kit
• toilet paper
• money
• food
• powdered electrolytic drink
• possibly a cellphone