William Loew-Blosser, age 65, won the national championship for the 1500-meter race-walk for his age group this past winter. It was Will’s first time ever competing at the national indoor meet held in Washington, D.C.
William Loew-Blosser, 65, is one speedy race walker.
A Twin Cities native who recently moved full time to Grand Marais, Blosser won the USA Track & Field metric mile race walking championships in the 65- to 69-year-old age group at the 2018 National Masters Indoor Championships on March 16 in Washington, D.C.
Blosser, who competes for the Twin Cities Race Walkers, crossed the finish line in 8:39.42, 10 seconds ahead of Andrew Smith, 68, who competed for the Pegasus A.C. club.
As fast as Blosser was, Norman Frable, age 72, of the So Cal Track Club, won the 70-74 national championships with a time one-second faster, 8:38.98.
“They had the two age groups compete together, so I was in the race with Frable,” said Blosser. “He’s really experienced and this was my first time at nationals. I was in the lead but everyone had told me to look out; Frable comes on like gangbusters in the last lap. Sure enough, he went by me in the last lap and said, “try to keep up now,’” said Blosser laughing.
One doesn’t win a national title without properly training, and Blosser is no exception to that rule.
“I trained about 40 miles per week, adding speed work, 500 meters fast, 500 meters slow to train for the mile, the shortest distance race walkers compete in. Form and technique are important to get and maintain good speed, so I’m always working on that,” he said.
Blosser started race walking nine years ago. He ran cross country in high school but admitted, “I hated it. My dad had been a hiker so I picked up hiking from him. I started walking faster and faster but I picked up a few bad habits that needed to be corrected when I joined the club.”
At some point Blosser may teach a walking class through the Y, where he is a member. But until then, he encourages people to try the sport. “You won’t hurt your knees and hips like you do when you run. It’ a good total body workout. It’s very challenging.”
If you want to learn more about the sport of race walking Blosser suggests going to racewalk.com on your computer. “This site has a lot of good tips for beginners,” he said.
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