Friday June 3rd, 2022 | 5 minute read
By Harrison Crooks
This Past weekend the Art Keay memorial Racewalking event took place at Hanlan’s Point in Toronto, Ontario. This small but energetic event consisted of around 20 athletes including John Risch, one of America’s top racewalkers. You could tell that the participants were enthusiastic, primarily due to this being the first time the event being held in six years. The Art Keay racewalks is dedicated to Art Keay who was a long-distance runner who competed in the men’s 5000 Metres at the 1928 summer Olympics.
The race took place on May 29, 2022 which happened to be a beautiful Sunday. Arriving to the event everyone seemed to be in
good spirits, food was being shared around to people who finished the race while also encouraging and supporting those who were still in the race. The event consisted of the 3km, 5km , 10km and 20km walk with each event having both men and women. With the race course being in an area which is prone to flooding this led to cancellations in 2017 and 2019 . Stafford Whalen, the event organizer and former national racewalk coach and coordinator, made it clear that the pandemic has affected how many people participated in the event. The usual turnout being 40-50 people vs. this year’s 20. This is due to the fact that lots of athletes feel like they are not in shape to compete and that lots of clubs are hurting in membership numbers. Nonetheless, the participants were dedicated and eager to complete the race to make up for the long hiatus. Being able to finally come together as a community and race after the difficulties experienced in the pandemic was a win of its own. .
As mentioned earlier this event consisted of top racewalkers such as Anne De Thoy. Anne has competed in multiple racewalking events around the world and is heavily involved in the racewalking community today. I had the opportunity to interview Anne after her race to discuss her background in racewalking, the benefits of racewalking and how more young people can get involved. Although Anne was still tired from her race, she was very willing and enthusiastic to give an informative interview. Anne, who was originally a runner, got into racewalking after an injury. She did her first racewalk 14 years ago which was a 5k race and ever since then has enjoyed it. One Important thing that Anne stressed was the benefits and importance of race walking. She said that Racewalking to her is thrilling and that it ultimately brings her joy in her life while also enjoying the physical challenge of it. Perhaps the most important benefit of racewalking to her was the Camaraderie. The atmosphere of the event was incredibly friendly and even I, an outsider to this community, felt welcome and included. Anne made it clear that within the racewalking community people spend a lot of time together, thus creating strong bonds and friendships. Finally, I was curious what Anne’s thoughts were on how to get young people more involved in racewalking. She simply said that it is important for kids to develop confidence as this would drive them to try new sports such as racewalking.
Although the Art Keary memorial racewalks have been postponed within the last couple years due to unforeseen circumstances, it is safe to say that this year’s event was a success. The effects of the pandemic seemed to not phase this small but passionate group of racewalkers. Top Athletes such as American John Risch and Anne De Thoy are living proof of hard work and dedication and their results in the race reflect this statement. I encourage the younger generation and those who are curious about racewalking to come out to the next event as it can inspire you in a variety of different ways!
