Penza, 16 September 2014. PenzaNews. Nearly 130 people attended the open Nordic walking city festival that took place on the Olympic alley in Penza on Tuesday, September 16.

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The participants were elderly people who covered the distance of 4 km.

According to Oleg Kulagin, deputy chairman of the city sports committee, the “Second youth” project that gives the elderly an opportunity to learn Nordic walking has been underway in Penza for three years.

“It was created by Viktor Polyukhin, the Honored Worker of Physical Culture. Right now, the city has 11 Nordic walking grounds, and more and more people are willing to engage in Nordic walking — there were 30 people at first, and now there are about 600,” he said.

In his turn, Viktor Polyukhin explained that the events such as this usually are not competitive in nature.

“During the classes, we are constantly talking about the physiology, the anatomy, the biomechanics – how the basic functions of the human body operate. It is a kind of education in the art of being healthy. And we see positive results. We are also working with kindergartens and schools. It is no coincidence that new GTO complex includes Nordic walking. Other regions of Russia already show great interest in our experience,” he said.

According to the Internet service “Penza-Sport,” the participants received prizes and certificates at the end of the festival.