Kevin Phillips Talks Racing & On Cloudflow

Back in the days of Queen Victoria, British nobleman used to bet on their footmen, to see which one could walk the fastest alongside their carriages. This pastime eventually evolved into a sport known as race walking, making its official Olympic debut as a standalone sport in 1908.

While running is simply a race to see who makes it to the finishing line first, race walking has a number of technical elements to it, which judges ensure are strictly adhered to.

This is something that Kevin Phillips is familiar with. He placed in the first five recently at the ASA 25km Walking Championships in the 55 to 49 age group.

“Race walking is strenuous, but it’s not as hard on the body as running. The movements are fluid, slow and low,” Phillips says.

Phillips chose to do his race walk in On’s Cloudflow performance shoes distributed by Tifosi Sports.  “On’s Cloudflow was perfect for the race. You need to choose the right shoe for the right event and the Cloudflow was exactly the right shoe for the job,” Philips explains. “The shoe is nice and low, provides a good fit. It’s also light and flexible which works well for race walking.”

The Cloudflow performance shoe is specifically designed to be light, and is equipped with CloudTec®. CloudTec® allows for powerful take offs and soft landings, and is the signature of On shoes. CloudTec® also helps to reduce muscle fatigue – which is ideal for anyone doing distance races.

Phillips began his journey with Run/Walk for Life in Johannesburg, Gauteng. He offers this advice to anyone who wants to attempt race walking: “Start with the basics. Don’t push too hard or go too fasts. Join an athletics club like Run/Walk For Life and don’t give up.”