Bill Samsoe isn't immediately forthcoming about his training approach for the first Missoula Half Marathon Walking Training Class.
“I don't have any techniques!” he said Wednesday as four of the seven members trickled into the parking lot of Community Medical Center for the group's final two-mile walk together before Sunday's race. “Just try to be friendly to everybody.”
“If it weren't for him, I don't know if we would have been able to have a training program,” she said. “He's great about getting out there and encouraging people.”
Aside from motivating members with his big smile and dry humor, Samsoe had Courtney Babcock, a 5K and 15K runner who participated in the 2004 Olympics in Greece, put together a 12-week training program starting April 19 for beginning and intermediate walkers and including presentations by a nutritionist and a physical therapist.
“I knew we were dealing with people that were walking and not trying to get out there and break records,” said Samsoe, a runner-turned-walker after suffering a knee blowout at the end of his second marathon run.
“It's not about race-walking,” said Tony Beltramo, 68, while keeping up a steady pace during the hot and windy walk. “Basically I like to feel good.”
Beltramo sported a “Bloomsday '98” T-shirt and squeezed two yellow foam stars in each hand to prevent swelling - a tip he said he learned from Samsoe.
He said walking helps him maintain a strong lung capacity for other activities in his daily life, such as lowering stress when getting ready for a presentation and when he's strumming chords on the Spanish guitar.
“It's something about being able to breathe right,” he said, and added that he thinks it's good to have a consistent program if you're not that athletic.
Beltramo has walked the Bloomsday, a 7.46-mile course in Spokane, every year with his wife, Marlene, since the 1980s.
“We've also done a lot of hiking,” said Marlene, walking slightly ahead of her husband. “But we never thought of walking for 13 miles. It's always fun to exercise with other people. It keeps you going.”
She said she doesn't run because she wants to protect her knees.
“Walking you can always do,” she said. “It would be great if other people got interested and saw it was something they could do.”
For the Beltramos, this year's marathon is a family affair: their 5-year-old grandson will be participating in the Missoula Kids Marathon.
Marlene even recruited 64-year-old walking partner Carolyn Abbott to the training program. The two typically walk a 3.2-mile loop around the South Hills.
“We look for ways to keep it interesting and exciting,” Abbott said, pumping her arms on the last leg of the walk yesterday. “I wouldn't have done it without the training.”
She said in addition to a regular walking schedule, she and the other members have gained valuable knowledge about hydration, pace and nutrition.
Abbott, a fit woman standing slightly below 5 feet, suffers from osteoporosis and scoliosis. She said walking or some kind of weight-bearing exercise is crucial in order for her to remain healthy and strong.
“I do a lot of walking anyway, so why not make it fun?” she said.
The members cited the heat, a few achy joints and blisters as the only challenges they have had to overcome during the training process.
“We feel good afterward,” Abbott said as one of the reasons the group perseveres. “If you're having a bad day, it gets you back into a cheerful spirit.”
First-time Half Marathon walker Rolf Tandberg has a lot to be cheerful about - he turned 60 on Thursday, and his health is in excellent condition.
“I went from the doctor suggesting I take an anti-cholesterol medication, to reversing it completely so all of the numbers are good,” he said between breaths. “The good cholesterol is high, the bad cholesterol is low, and my triglycerides went down.”
Tandberg said the group has been successful at staying focused.
“When you're dealing with people at our advanced age, the motivation is self-motivation,” he said.
Straughan said she enjoys watching people's mind-sets improve during the course of training.
“It's so cool to watch people's attitudes change from ‘I didn't think I could go 10 miles' to, by the end, having a real sense of accomplishment,” she said. “It makes them realize they certainly can get out there and do these things.”
Elizabeth Harrison is a newsroom intern for the Missoulian. She is a journalism student at the University of Montana.
Missoula Half Marathon
The Missoula Half Marathon begins Sunday at 6 a.m. The course is 13.1 miles, beginning on Blue Mountain Road, merging with the marathon course on River Pines Road near the Bitterroot River and finishing at the Higgins Avenue Bridge. For more information, visit www.runwildmissoula.org.
Bill Samsoe's tips for walking healthy
1. Attitude: Surround yourself with positive people.
2. Frequency, persistence and regularity.
3. Approach things sensibly: Have a program to follow.
4. Set goals. Figure out what your next goal is going to be. “A lot of times after a big goal, there's a letdown. If you let yourself down, you're just going to stop,” Samsoe said.
5. Check with your health care provider (from Rolf Tandberg).
6. Have fun!
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