Trivia

THE RACE WALKING ASSOCIATION

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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