Penza, 14 June 2012. PenzaNews. The second city festival of Nordic walking took place in Olimpiyskaya Alleya in Penza on Thursday, June 14.

© PenzaNewsBuy the photo

About 40 people participated in it, most of who were of a retirement age. According to the organizers, the youngest walker was 10 years old, and the eldest was 76 years old.

Before the start, the founder of Nordic walking in the region Victor Polyukhin had instructed those present and explained them the basics of this type of activity.

The fastest participants overcame the distance, which was 3km 800 meters in 21 minutes. However, the organizers of the festival emphasized that the action had not been of a sporting character, therefore, no prizes were awarded.

Special guest of this action was the Honored Master of Sports of Russia, the bronze prize-winner of Olympic Games of 2004 Alexey Voyevodin. According to him, Nordic walking has a number of advantages.

“Walking unloads a backbone therefore it is recommended to those who have problems with the musculoskeletal system. Besides, it is easy to control training load: after five minutes of jogging a man may start to choke but one can go for a long time,” he emphasized and recommended to master Nordic walking to all the citizens of Penza who want to lead an active lifestyle.