From running to walking...

For decades we’ve been dedicated runners and it’s only a few years ago that we slowed down and switched from running into walking.

I had a tough time climbing up a steep hill on our regular course and my wife was concerned about her knees.

Today, our running isn’t just leisurely ambling around, but walking fairly fast. Researchers tell us that a 160-pound person, walking at a brisk, 3.5-mph pace for 30 minutes will burn about 156 calories. On the other hand, running at a 6-mph pace for that same 30 minutes will burn more than double the calories (about 356).

Another way to look at it, is that it will take a bit more than twice the time to accomplish the same amount of exercise and burn as many calories.

The main difference is that running is less efficient and more strenuous than simply walking, so it burns more calories per minute.

The good news is that we now have much more time available to us and can comfortably afford to walk our 6 miles a day (10 km) instead of running!