Walking Golf and a Half Marathon

Contributed by Sean Eidson
March 2010

I became an avid walking golfer a year ago.  In preparation for a visit to Bandon Dunes and its walking only policy, I started walking as often as possible when I played.  A year later, walking golf has helped me accomplish a feat I could never have imagined – running a half marathon.

I’m not a doctor and I don’t think anyone should point to my experience as a model.  Please don’t replicate my experiment and then sue The Walking Golfer because I don’t claim any expertise and wouldn’t recommend this for anyone.  But, I contend that the fitness benefits of walking and carrying a bag can provide a viable fitness base for everything from simply maintaining a healthy lifestyle to highly strenuous athletic events like 13.1 mile runs.

Here’s my half marathon story.

Last season, I started walking when I play golf regularly in February and choosing my courses based on their walkability.  With Bandon approaching in July, I felt like I needed a lot more experience with the rhythm of the walking game and my fitness level was basically non-existent.  I bought a very light bag and started walking at least 18 holes per week, often 36 or 54.  After a wonderful experience walking 7 rounds in four days at Bandon, I continued to walk as often as possible for the rest of the season.

Last November, my family persuaded me to do a Thanksgiving 5k.  Some of us were going to walk, some were going to jog.  But we were all going to get some exercise before we stuffed ourselves that afternoon.   I thought I would end up walking most of the course, but I started the race at a light jog.  One step after another, I kept jogging and finished the 5k without walking.  I was astonished that I was able to finish the course without having completed a single training run – not one mile.  I’m at least 20 pounds overweight and outside my walking golf, I get virtually no exercise.  At dinner that night, I became convinced that walking golf had to be the reason I was able to run that 5k.

I enjoyed the race environment and the sense of accomplishment so much that I decided to begin training for a half marathon, my first.  I printed out an online training schedule and started ticking off runs from the beginning.  Four runs a week for 13 weeks would get me to race day ready to run 13.1 miles.  I followed the training schedule closely for 6 weeks.  I was up to 6 miles on the long days when I came down with a case of shin splints.  Shin splints typically occur due to over training.  I had a bad case in high school that left me in pain for six months when I continued to train through the pain.  So I shut down my schedule for two weeks.  But I kept playing golf.  I could walk 18 holes without any shin splint pain, so I played every week.

At the end of the break, bitterly cold weather and a busy work schedule were all the excuses I needed to turn a two week break into a four week break.  By then, I was so far off my training schedule that it seemed impossible I’d get to a training distance that would prepare me for the half marathon without pushing the limits of what my shins could manage.  But I kept playing golf.

Race week came and, having paid my entry fee and with visitors coming to town for the event, I decided to start the race anyway.  The plan was to run as far as I could and then walk to the finish, collect my finisher medal and watch the band at the finish line.

Miles 1-4 were great.  I ran with ease, buoyed by the race day environment and adrenaline.  I enjoyed running miles 5-6 through one of the prettiest neighborhoods in Dallas.  While I had anticipated needing to walk by at least the midpoint, I was still running strong and feeling comfortable when ran up the largest hill to the highest point on the course at mile 7.  It was literally all downhill after that.  Mile 9 was a significant milestone because I had done plenty of 4 mile runs before and I knew how to do that.  But I hit a wall at mile 10.5.  Everything hurt and I could only focus on the road 3 feet ahead of me.  My gait deteriorated and I was depending on the energy boosting Goo and sports drinks handed out along the course.  Powering through the wall was tough, truly an exercise in willpower because not much was going well physically.  Elation finally set in after mile 12 and the finish line came into view.  I finished the race 15 minutes slower than I had hoped as I began my training, but I finished it.

Looking back on it, I probably pushed my body harder at the brink than I should have.  I may be discounting the effort I put into training in December and January.  But I believe that walking golf formed a substantial fitness base for me to complete that half marathon.  It was my sole form of athletic activity for the last two months leading into the race.  As a sample of one, I am convinced that walking 18 or more holes per week is a great basic fitness foundation.  What’s better than getting out into nature, spending time with friends, playing a game you love, AND getting a great workout?  I know there are people who will say those things about running, but I found it a struggle every morning to lace up my shoes and put the miles down. Yet I never feel that about walking 18 holes.  Now I’m convinced that walking golf will keep me healthy for life.