On May 4, Canadian Evan Dunfee laced up his shoes and walked to the starting line for the Vancouver Marathon. Dunfee was still walking when the race began, and he kept walking as the kilometers piled up. In all, he traversed the 42.195-kilometer course without breaking into a run.
This was not, however, a weekend warrior out for a stroll. Dunfee is an Olympic race walker, one of the best Canada has ever produced. He did not just walk the Vancouver Marathon, he finished it in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 58 seconds. He was 186th out of 4,589 men who competed.
It was a rare mainstream moment in the sun for race walking, perhaps the most misunderstood sport in track and field.
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