Marathon Jitters? Grab Some Nordic Walking Poles!

Photo: Portland Marathon

By now, you know I'm a travel hound who will do anything to travel. Even if that means tackling a marathon. Granted, I could do a marathon close to home and spend no time on the road. But half the fun of doing a marathon is escaping to a cool destination. Which is why I decided to tackle the Portland, Ore. marathon two years ago.

Not only is this marathon consistently ranked in the top 10 in the country, Portland is also one of my favorite cities with its tax-free shopping and awesome restaurants. But there's another reason: Portland is the only U.S. marathon to sanction a division in Nordic walking, an activity I'm addicted to. As crazy as it sounds, it's also the Nordic Walking World Championship.

Not familiar with Nordic walking? It's basically walking with specially-designed poles. It was created by Nordic skiers as a way to cross train during the summer. (I'm a cross country ski buff so Nordic walking hooked me instantly.) Now it's gone mainstream, and I promise that once you try it, you'll never want to walk without poles. Heck, you may even give up your running ways. I'll admit it sounds goofy, but the benefits are huge. You burn more calories walking with poles than without. (You're using more muscles, after all.) If you do it right, you can even get the same intensity as running but minus the impact. You also strengthen upper body and core muscles and improve posture.

So two years ago, I flew to Portland to take my sticks for a 26.2-mile spin on a relatively flat course, although there are a few hills that can knock the wind out of you, like near mile 17, where you have to ascend St. Johns Bridge. The event was amazing -- it's incredibly well organized and features bands almost every mile. Plus, where else can you find gummi bear stations and a Widmer beer station?

In full disclosure, I won the women's event and came in second overall. The really cool part? I finished only four minutes behind Olympic race walker Philip Dunn who represented the U.S. in Beijing in 2008. He entered the Nordic walking division because he'd injured his hamstring and couldn't race walk, but because he needed to do the event as part of his Olympic training, he used poles, which took the impact off his hamstring. And last year, I was the overall winner.

Not that I'm biased, but if you're looking for a really fun marathon in an ultra cool city, make a date to head to Portland on October 4. There's still time to train -- sign up at www.portlandmarathon.org. And if you're really gutsy, give those poles a try. I can't promise you'll win, but I can promise you'll love the results you get from Nordic walking.