Mixing Walking And Running Conserves Energy, Builds Endurance

Walkers and runners concerned about conserving energy and building endurance will benefit from the findings of a new U.S. study. Researchers asked college students to travel a distance a little longer than a football field – sometimes in two minutes, sometimes in 30 seconds – and keep track of their times using a stopwatch. They were required to arrive at different specific destinations at specific times. The study found a "transition region" of speed between 4.5-6.7 miles per hour when students tended to mix walking and running. Regardless of fitness level, height, weight, leg length, or allotted time for each trip, all mixed walking and running to conserve energy when moving at speeds within the transition region.