No arguments with that statement although perhaps I need to remind you that apart from the limited few for the vast majority of people walking is a pleasurable passtime. It is most definitely not a race or a challenge where increasing speed and walking further and faster is even considered. What matters most is completing the walk at a comfortable pace, safely and most importantly without injury.
Once again I'll have to comment on your assumptions...
You appear to suggest that treating walking as a challenge, a sport, or exercise beyond one's comfort zone can't be classed as pleasurable. I strongly disagree!
I only began walking as a combined leisure and fitness activity less than 5 years ago. I still remember clearly the huge elation I felt when I arrived home after my first 20 mile walk - with aching legs and blisters. Runners' high is a real thing and walkers' high is just as real; I've always felt fantastic after going further or faster than I've ever done before. And why not?
You claim that walking is: "
...definitely not a race or a challenge...". But as it happens, the first organisation I joined and the first forum to which I contributed, was the LDWA. I'm sure some will know that the Long Distance Walkers' Association is very much all about racing and challenges! In fact, it wasn't until I started subscribing to Country Walking Magazine that I realised that walking 1000 miles in a year was considered a challenge by many.
Unlike some, I believe that country walking has a lot in common with trail running. But whereas runners seem to readily accept that regular training and pushing their distance and speed makes them able to run further and faster without actually working any harder, most walkers seem to me to ignore or even deny that possibility. That is, of course, entirely and properly up to them - just as enjoying challenging myself is entirely up to me!