Running Galloway-Style



Liz G

 You never know what kind of reaction you’re going to get when you tell another runner that you use the Galloway Run-Walk Method for running marathons.  Generally the conversation starts with your having to explain just what that means – namely, that you incorporate regularly timed walk-breaks into your runs.  Some people think it sounds cool, others want to know how I know when to stop, and some ask if this just for really long runs or anytime I lace up (my answer is just long runs).  But many folks simply dismiss it out of hand – “you’re not really running a marathon,” is usually how the conversation goes.  I’ll admit that the Galloway Method is not for everyone, but I do think it should be considered as a serious training plan for runners at all levels.

In a nutshell, the Galloway method, developed by Olympian Jeff Galloway, incorporates active recovery into the distance run by dropping in regularly planned walk breaks.  His method is described in detail in Galloway's Book on Running.  Depending on the runner’s physical and mental capabilities and the distance of the race, the ratio of the run-walk break can range from one-minute run with one-minute walk, to shuffling your feet for 30 seconds at every mile marker, to just about every permutation in between.  The theory behind this is both physical and mental. 

Physically, Galloway believes that by shifting back and forth between walking and running muscles, you distribute the workload among a variety of muscles, increasing your overall performance capacity.  In a way, you are building active recovery into your run, allowing you to remain strong throughout the race; indeed, most Galloway runners have a stronger second-half than if they were to run without stopping.  The Galloway program’s tag-line is “run injury free.”

Mentally, the walk breaks cut the 26 miles into digestible segments, which you know you can do.  Instead of thinking at mile 20 that you have six more miles to go, a Galloway runner will rationalize that he or she has one more mile until the next break, or that s/he’s running for another five minutes, and then another five minutes, and so on.  Even when the going is tough, you know that you can always run that shorter distance, and before you know it, you’re at the finish line.

Another central idea of the Galloway program is that the “wall” is located at the length of your longest endurance session.  That is to say, for example, that if your longest long-training run is 20 miles, you will hit the wall at mile 20 of a marathon.  Consequently, Galloway encourages people to go the full 26 miles in your last training run before your marathon.  That also means that the training schedule is six months, as opposed to the more common four months, as people move up gradually to a 26-miler.

For the slower marathoner and those trying their first-ever distance races, I think the Galloway method is a no-brainer.  I’ve heard lots of first-timers say that they would never do a Galloway-style marathon because they wouldn’t actually be “running the whole distance.”  That’s nonsense.  I’m covering the same 26.2 miles as everyone else.  Moreover, I’m in control of my walk breaks – unlike many first-timers who run 18-20 miles of a marathon, getting slower and slower with every mile, and finally break down and walk the last bunch of miles because they’ve hit the wall.  With the Galloway program, you don’t hit the wall and the walking is spread out into 30-60 second segments, and not done in a depressing 30 minute slog.  Importantly, to receive the maximum benefit you must start the walk breaks before you feel any fatigue, in the first mile.  If you wait until you feel the need for a walk break, you’ve already reduced your potential performance.

But this is not just a program for first-timers or slow-pokes. I’ve completed 16 marathons, 15 of them Galloway style – which, I should mention, I picked up after having trained for and run my first marathon the more traditional way…which included a long, miserable walk from the Bronx to Columbus Circle.  For the faster marathoner, the program is worth trying out.  In the marathon where I had my own personal best time, I ran 5-and-1’s (five minutes of running and one minute walking) for the first 20 miles, and then ran straight without walk-breaks for the last 10K.  My mile splits improved mile by mile, and my last 10K was my strongest mentally and physically.  Taking regular walk breaks, I was able to push my heart rate higher during the run segments and recover a few beats during the short walks. In the second half of all my races, I’ve found myself passing lots of runners who passed me in the first half!

Yes, there are things about Galloway runners that annoy other folks on the road – the starting and stopping can get annoying to other runners who have to maneuver around them – but aside from that, I can’t understand why mere mention of the program elicits such strong emotions from others. A couple of years ago when the New York Times’ Tara Parker-Pope was training for her first marathon, she used the Galloway method and wrote about it in her article titled Better Running Through Walking.  As she wrote, colleagues of hers “snickered” when she told them.  Over 260 people wrote in to comment on her article, many of them furious to be considered marathoner finishers on an equal footing with people doing 26.2 miles of run-walking.  But, Parker-Pope concluded, she was convinced that “those of us run-walking the marathon will have the last laugh.”  I, for one, will be there laughing with her.

Jeff Galloway will be convening a free kick-off of the NYC training program that's open to the public on April 20, 2011 at 6:30 PM.  The event will take place at PS 6, at 45 East 81st between Park & Madison (please use the middle red door).  For more information about the kick-off and about Galloway running in NYC, please click here.
Liz G