Hard Walk

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Walking Classic is a popular draw for competitive racewalkers

Walking is serious business for some of the New Albany Walking Classic participants.

Each year, the Walking Classic draws a variety of competitive racewalkers from central Ohio and beyond. We took a closer look at how two of them got introduced to the sport, and how they make sure their bodies are up to the challenge.

Cindy Wildman

Racewalking since: 2009

Cleveland resident Cindy Wildman started training as a racewalker when she decided she wanted to complete the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon on her birthday in May 2009.

“It was challenging training in the winter months in Cleveland, but so very rewarding to know I was going to complete a marathon,” Wildman says.

Though her father suffered a stroke that April, Wildman continued to find time to train when she wasn’t spending time with him. A week before the marathon, her father died.

“I was actually going to not compete but, knowing my dad, he would have been kicking me all the way to start line,” she says.

More races followed after her emotional first one. Wildman joined the New Albany Walking Club in July 2009 after a fellow racewalker suggested she check out the group. She still visits Columbus monthly to participate in walks.

In September 2009, Wildman participated in her first New Albany Walking Classic.

Wildman’s fitness routine includes swimming three times per week and cycling. She has also competed in different sprint triathlons in the past few years.

“Racewalking has given me strength, hope and so much happiness,” Wildman says.

Stephanie Ladson-Wofford

Racewalking since: 2011

Dr. Stephanie Ladson-Wofford, a physician and New Albany resident, became interested in competitive racewalking after one of her patients told her he was going to walk in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon.

Since participating in that first half marathon in 2011, Ladson-Wofford has walked in 12 half marathons. She’s also a member of the New Albany Walking Club and the newly formed German Village Walking Club.

“It’s given me a nice thing to do, as far as goals,” Ladson-Wofford says.

Ladson placed third in the Walking Classic’s women’s 50-59 division in 2013 and 2014, and she received the third place female overall award in the competitive walkers’ division for the 2014 half marathon distance in the Columbus Marathon.

While she doesn’t run, Ladson-Wofford’s cross training includes weightlifting and strength training. She works with a trainer three days a week, working one-on-one two days per week and participating in a group session once weekly. She exercises five or six days per week, doing a combination of cardio and strength activities. She says her efforts have helped her walking by building muscle and bone strength.

Sarah Sole is an editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.