At age 75, legendary coach and Olympian Jeff Galloway is almost as famous for walking as he is for running. Jeff says his run-walk-run method of training enables people to run longer and faster with much less risk of injury, and his half a million followers agree.
In this episode, Jeff talks about how he developed his walk/run technique and how everyone from absolute beginners to the fastest runners can benefit from it. He also shares with Coach Claire how he’s getting more steps in while working from home, how runners can stay motivated during the pandemic, what his Magic Mile is and how to use it for training, and what he’s doing at age 75 to ensure he can keep running until age 100 and beyond.
Not only is there a lot to be learned from Jeff in this interview, but he also has a new book out called Galloway’s 5K/10K Running, Training for Runners & Walkers. The book describes Jeff’s Run Walk Run method and how it can be used to reduce aches and pains and fatigue while improving race times. It includes training plans, easy-to-read advice on medical checkups, nutrition for runners, fat-burning workouts, choosing the right running shoes, how to stay motivated, and a race day checklist. The book is definitely a great tool for runners at any level!
Jeff worked his way from being an average teenage runner to an Olympian. His book Galloway’s Book on Running is the best selling running book in North America. He also wrote columns for Runner’s World for 20-plus years, he’s an international running and fitness speaker, and as a coach, has helped 400,000-plus average people train for their goals. His Run Walk Run marathon training program boasts an impressive 98% success rate.
Questions Jeff is asked:
3:35 At this point in your career, you are almost as famous for walking as you are for running! Can you talk about what you love about walking in general and its benefits for runners?
9:09 How would you recommend all of us who are working from home get more transition time between sitting at our computers and running and get more steps in? How do we get our work done and still get in all our steps?
10:51 Maybe because we’re all stuck at home and the gyms are closed, I see more people in my neighborhood than ever out walking, out running, out doing things, people you’d never see before. So what advice would you give to someone just starting out?
14:58 Should runners of all levels use walking in their training and racing? What’s your opinion on intermediate-to-advanced runners?
16:12 I’m a steady runner. I run even splits no matter what, and in the last marathon that I was in, there was somebody next to me who was leapfrogging me. And he was running super fast and then he would walk, and then I’d pass him, and he’d run super fast and then he would walk. And this is at a sub-three-hour marathon pace, and so I was just like, “That is pretty impressive to see someone doing that,” because in order to get to the finish line in the same time as me, his run section would have to be significantly faster to make up for the walking. So I thought that was very interesting.
17:32 Is there a proper technique to walking or can you just go out and walk like you always do?
18:43 The walk in the run/walk method is not just a stroll; this is a walk with purpose?
19:42 Let’s talk about the Magic Mile. What is so magic about it and how do you use it for training?
22:03 So you just go out, you run a mile as fast as you can, and then you pop it into a calculator. Is that it for the Magic Mile?
23:53 When I use the Magic Mile calculator on your site, my predicted marathon time is far slower than what I actually could run for the marathon. Can you explain this?
25:21 My Magic Mile calculator result could just mean that I’m bad at short distances and better at long distances, right?
25:43 In a recent podcast, I asked leaders in the running community what they did to continue running for life, and I actually got somebody wanting to know what you do. They asked for you specifically, so I would love to hear your thoughts on how you’re going to keep running to 100 and beyond.
30:16 A lot of runners and walkers really look forward to having a race on their calendar, and with 2020 being as crazy as it has been, not all of us have those races on the calendar. How would you talk to those people who really get motivated by races when there aren’t any?
33:43 What is next for you?
Questions I ask everyone:
36:40 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?
38:57 What is the greatest gift running has given you?
39:55 Where can listeners connect with you?
Quotes by Jeff:
“There are a lot of people that won’t start running unless you tell them, ‘Well, just walk. Give it a try.’ And then if they’re interested, I offer them a proven way to add small segments of jogging or shuffling in a 30-second to 60-second timeframe so that they gradually introduce the body to the running motion. And I found that almost anybody can get into running, get all the benefits, and not have aches and pains if they have the right Run Walk Run.”
“If you want to walk, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with walking. You honestly are not going to get the brain benefits that you get even from five seconds of running at a time.”
“If runners want to run faster in races, then it’s definitely a good idea to put the walk breaks in.”
“The whole thing about running as you get older is all based on what your body part can handle that’s getting irritated, and I call those weak links. We all have weak links and we have to be attentive to them, and at the first irritation of a weak link, you back off, you treat it, and you go on.”
Take a Listen on Your Next Run
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Mentioned in this podcast:
Jeff Galloway | The official site of Run-Walk-Run
Book: Galloway’s 5K/10K Running, Training for Runners and Walkers
Runners Connect Winner’s Circle Facebook Community
https://www.precisionhydration.com/
Follow Jeff on:
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