Why Did the ‘Flying Finns’ Walk? A Footnote to the History of Athletics Training

2012

In the twenty-first century, distance runners invariably train by running. A few generations ago, however, virtually all elite runners were dedicated walkers; they sought to improve their running prowess by vigorous walking exercises. As idiosyncratic as their training philosophy retrospectively sounds, it needs to be assessed in its original context. Of all modern sports, distance running seemed a particularly suspicious activity to contemporary observers, as suggested by evidence from Finland and other leading sporting nations. A grown-up person dashing about in skimpy clothes easily ended up being classified as a mental case. Serious athletes therefore chose walking work-outs over unabas…

”Loistelias tappio” : Jean Bouin ja ranskalainen olympiajulkisuus

2012

Prologue: Representations of Running

2012

Epilogue: Going the Extra Mile

2012

Hiipiviä hölkkääjiä ja dynaamisia juoksijoita

2017

Endurance running : a socio-cultural examination / toimittaneet William Bridel, Pirkko Markula & Jim Denison. London : Routledge, 2016.