THE RACE WALKING ASSOCIATION
 
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FOUNDED 1907




THE TRIVIA PAGE


After all, it's only a game - or, conversely, in the spirit of the late Bill Shankly, Manager of Liverpool Football Club,
"
Football isn't a matter of life or death; it's much more important than that!"

Some of the lighter aspects of race walking will appear here.
Contributions and corrections will be welcome at
[email protected]
FILMS
TELEVISION AND WIRELESS PROGRAMMES
POSTAGE STAMPS 
OTHER TRIVIAL THINGS

FILMS
("News" films are excluded; only feature films are covered here.)

CARRY ON AT YOUR CONVENIENCE Having had his trousers torn off by Bernard Bresslaw's motorcycle (well, it could happen to anyone), Kenneth Cope tries to cover his embarrassment by pretending to be a race walker, presumably in the belief that race walkers wear shirts and under-pants.
CARRY ON CRUISING  The ship's doctor (Kenneth Connor) on an hysterical cruise gets his exercise by race walking round the deck.
DR. DETROIT In the opening, Dan Akroyd can be seen race walking through the park (Info.: John Mike Nicholls, Dave McGovern)
NO SEX PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH Ronnie Corbett is seen race walking; Matt Hales describes the technique as "fairly smooth and flowing"
ONE GOOD TURN Norman Wisdom joins in the London to Brighton walk
PASSPORT TO PIMLICO Part of London discovers that it's really part of Burgundy and complications ensue. A (not terribly stylish) race walking passerby appears from time to time 
THE COLDITZ STORY Two of the prisoners are plotting their escape when a walker passes a couple of times
THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)
The character James Martin takes exercise by race walking on the deck of the ill-fated liner. The part is played by Red Buttons, who is wearing bottoms and cannot therefore be judged, or it might be a case of Red Cards. (Info.: Pauline Wilson)
WALK DON'T RUN "Romantic comedy" about an American race walker (Jim Hutton) in the Tokyo Olympics (with Cary Grant & Samantha Eggar). The film lasts about two hours; it feels like 50k. [The B.B.C. weekly programme magazine Radio Times gives the film three stars; three red cards would be nearer the mark.]
WALKIN' FREE A short by Scott Recchia in which a walker, challenged to a race by a rival is accompanied and encouraged by the ghost of his dead coach. He wins, but falls over a cliff, is killed himself and goes off with the spirit-coach to the great training ground in the sky.
WITH LOVE TO THE PERSON NEXT TO ME  Australian film in which the main character in his taxi passes two race walkers, Mark Wall (our informant) and Mark Fletcher, training on a popular Melbourne circuit
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY Billy Crystal and Bruno Kirby are talking about life/women/happiness while race walking to stay in shape. (Info.: John Mike Nicholl, Dave McGovern)

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TELEVISION AND WIRELESS PROGRAMMES
HANCOCK'S HALF HOUR
(B.B.C. Television)
Finding that Mrs.Cravat has taken their only suits to the cleaners, Tony Hancock and Sid James pin numbers to their underwear and race walk into town. (Since the town is East Cheam, it is remarkable that rioting does not ensue.)
MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
(Fox Televsion, U.S.A.)
Hal sees a group of race walkers and becomes an enthusiast (would that all casual spotters did the same!), honing his technique and trying (unsuccessfully) to outpace the group. The walkers include Curt Clausen (triple Olympian and 1999 World Champs 50k medallist), Philip Dunn (triple Olympian and 1999 Pan-American Games 50k medallist), Sean Albert and Susan Armenta. (Extras "Cast list" from Philip Dunn)
THE VICAR OF DIBLEY
(B.B.C.Television)
Told not to run in the churchyard, the idiot verger Alice breaks into a passable race walk. (Episode entitled Community Spirit.)
WHITLOCK'S WALK
(B.B.C. Wireless)
A wireless play by John Burrows, broadcast on B.B.C. Radio 4 on the 10th September, 2002. In Berlin for the 1936 Olympic Games, Whitlock (always addressed in the play as "Harry" - as who would dare to!) and a boxer called Coleman uncover a plot by Hitler to convince the world that his military strength is greater than it really is by building dummy bombers and leaving them where they can be seen. There is much by-play with drugged drinks, Jewish officials being killed and harsh-voiced Nazis. The intention may have been that the play be taken seriously, although the concept seems beyond credibility.

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POSTAGE STAMPS

[Additions will be made as Peter Cassidy finds more.]
For illustrations of the stamps with yellow backgrounds in the list,
Click Here.
A commentary on most of these stamps can be found at http://www.vrwc.org.au/vrwcstamps.shtml
Country Year Occasion Value Subject Comment
Australia
2006
Commonwealth Games
50c
Jane Saville

Australia
2006
Commonwealth Games
50c
Nathan Deakes

Australia
2006
Commonwealth Games
50c
Nathan Deakes

Central African Republic  1980  Moscow Olympic Games 30f  Three walkers  One looks like D.Bautista 
Central African Republic  1981  Moscow Olympic Games Champions  30f  Same design  Overprinted: 50KM MARCHE HARTWIG GAUDER - G.D.R. 
China
2012
Olympic Games
20y
Gold medal winner

Dominican Republic  1957 Olympic Games first issue - past champions 16c  Ugo Frigerio   
Dominican Republic  1957 Olympic Games second issue - 1956 champions  7c  Trio of walkers
Don Thompson, Norman Read and Ron Crawford
Dominican Republic  1959 Pan-American Games, Chicago 16c Ugo Frigerio Issue of 1957 overprinted III JUEGOS DEPORTIVOS PANAMERICANOS +2 and runner
Ecuador 1996 Olympic Games 3000s  Jefferson Pérez   
Ecuador
2007
Pan-American Games



France 1978 Sport for All 1f Sporting activities Rightmost figure appears to be a race walker 
France 1984 Olympic Games and 90th Anniversary of I.O.C. 4f Olympic Sports Fifth figure from left may be a race walker
Greece
2004
Olympic Games
0·65€
Athanasia Tsoumeleka

Isle of Man
1978
Commonwealth Games
7p
Swimmer, cyclist & walker

Isle of Man  1986 Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh 15p Phil Bannan

Japan  1965 10th National Athletics meeting 5y Race Walker  
Kampuchea
1989
1992 Olympic Games
10R
Race Walker

Korea (D.P.R.)  1978  Olympic Games history and medal winners 20ch  Ugo Frigerio  
Latvia  1996 Olympic Games 24s Race Walking  
Liberia  1960 Olympic Games 15c Race Walking  
Luxembourg 1968 Olympic Games 6f Race Walking Three walkers
Netherlands 1976 60th Nijmegen March 40c Walkers Not quite race walking but the event is popular with some walkers
Niger 1980  Olympic Games  90f  Race Walking Daniel Bautista and Raúl Gonzalez
Niger 1980 Olympic Games Medal Winners 90f Same design Overprinted DAMILANO (IT)
Poland
2000
2000 Olympic Games
1·55Zl
Robert Korzeniowski

Poland
2001
Polish history millenium
1Zl
Robert Loraeniowski

San Marino 1954 Sports L0·80 & L1
Race Walking  
San Marino 1960 Olympic Games 3l Race Walking  
U.S.S.R. 1980 Olympic Sports seventh series - athletics 10k+5k Race walking  An extraordinary design; clearly post-Socialist realism – or post-modern brutalism
Yemen
?
Italian Olympic gold medal winners
?
Ugo Frigerio


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OTHER TRIVIAL THINGS

1 A Phonecard issued by British Telecomm for the World Student Games in Sheffield in 1991 shows the foot of a race walker (information supplied by Dave McGovern) Picture
2 "Comical" advertisement for the MTV Television Station, in which a race walker (an actor) frustrates his pursuers by sweeping the drinks off the table; the pursuers are Andy & Jamie O'Rawe and Peter Cassidy; quite possibly the only race walking ever filmed (or, indeed, seen) in North Benfleet, Essex. Click here
 3 The Father Brown stories by G.K.Chesterton have two references to race walking. In The Queer Feet: "First, there came a long rush of rapid little steps, such as a light man might make in winning a walking race." In The Sign of the Broken Sword : "He strode on, breathing hard, his black head and bull neck forward, like a man winning a walking race."
4
Manx postal cover issued for the World Race Walking Cup in the Isle of Man, 1985, with "Century of Motoring" stamp Picture

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