Missouri professor hopes to compete in her 15th Masters Championship

Gayle Johnson was never one to mock racewalkers. Actually, she had always found a sort of intrigue in the sport.

“I always thought racewalking was kind of interesting,” said Johnson, a professor of veterinary medicine at MU. “It had all these restrictions, kind of like being an adult, where you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

So when she saw Jack Mortland, a 1964 Olympian, racewalking though an Ohio park one day in 1988, she decided to pick his brain. Johnson had been running marathons since the mid-1970s. However, she figured racewalking could provide a new challenge as well as less wear on her body.

Now, at the age of 58, Johnson has competed in U.S. Championship races, finishing as high as 10th in her age group one year, and even in the 2002 National Championship as a racewalker in Eugene, Ore.

Racewalking even played an indirect role in helping Johnson meet her husband. Only a few months after Johnson met Mortland, Wayne Armbrust first spotted her walking around the Ohio State fieldhouse track. Armbrust, a level-three certified track coach, began to coach Johnson in the sport. Three years later, the two married.

Johnson’s peak came during the 2000-2001 season, which included setting a world record among women ages 50-54 at an indoor 3K race at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

After recovering from a broken arm last year, Johnson has picked up her training regimen in hopes of earning an invitation to her 15th Masters Championship next year.

“People may decide that because someone is walking, they can’t run,” said Johnson, who trains daily, often with Armbrust standing alongside. “For me, I look at it as an alternative.”