Although walking speeds can vary greatly depending on many factors such as height, weight, age, terrain, surface, load, culture, effort, and fitness, the average human walking speed at crosswalks is about 5.0 kilometres per hour (km/h), or about 1.4 meters per second (m/s), or about 3.1 miles per hour (mph). Speed is another factor that distinguishes walking from running. Running humans and animals may have contact periods greater than 50% of a gait cycle when rounding corners, running uphill or carrying loads. Definitions based on the percentage of the stride during which a foot is in contact with the ground (averaged across all feet) of greater than 50% contact corresponds well with identification of 'inverted pendulum' mechanics and are indicative of walking for animals with any number of limbs, however this definition is incomplete. For walking up grades above 10%, this distinction no longer holds for some individuals. This distinction, however, only holds true for locomotion over level or approximately level ground. During walking, the centre of mass reaches a maximum height at mid-stance, while running, it is then at a minimum. The most effective method to distinguish walking from running is to measure the height of a person's centre of mass using motion capture or a force plate at mid-stance. For quadrupedal species, there are numerous gaits which may be termed walking or running, and distinctions based upon the presence or absence of a suspended phase or the number of feet in contact any time do not yield mechanically correct classification. This distinction has the status of a formal requirement in competitive walking events. In contrast, running begins when both feet are off the ground with each step. In humans and other bipeds, walking is generally distinguished from running in that only one foot at a time leaves contact with the ground and there is a period of double-support. The word walk is descended from the Old English wealcan "to roll". See also: Jogging Racewalkers at the World Cup Trials in 1987
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