An Interview with Jeff Galloway Founder of the Run-Walk-Run Running Method
1. What do you like most about running?
The way it makes you feel before and after
2. How did you get started with running?
I was a fat kid at age 13 and wanted to stay up with the other kids not for the running, but because they were telling good jokes. I was forced to run at this age because the school required it [participation in after school sports was a requirement].
3. What made you decide to run professionally?
I had already been running for quite some time. I spent 3 years in the Navy from 1967-1970. My first duty station was on an oiler in Vietnam. I spent 18 months there and it was challenging. My second duty station was in St. John's, FL and was great. The reason I went to Florida State University was because I could use my GI bill to attend graduate school and run professionally at the same time.
4. How did you support yourself?
I had a part-time job at the Student Union.
5. Who are your biggest influences?
My father, Bill Bowerman, and Amby Burfoot were big influences. Geoff Hollister whom I met in the Navy at officer candidate school introduced me to Bowerman. Hollister was a year behind me in the Navy and he invited me to come to Eugene in 1967. Bowerman was my Olympic coach. Amby Burfoot looked for things he thought were best and that inspired me. I recall he didn't do any speed work and ran an 8:44 2-mile before going on to win the marathon distance. Amby was a pioneer of high mileage and vegetarianism who went about it quietly. The first year of high mileage Amby had a stress fracture. I appreciated Amby's ability to deal with adversity and win a gold medal. Billy Mills whom I met in undergraduate school and saw later in San Diego was a good friend and influence as well as Kenneth Cooper, founder of the Cooper Aerobics Institute and Cooper Clinic.
6. Best advice with regard to running?
I was self-coached.
7. Worst advice with regard to running?
Well-meaning runners who say, "You have to do it the way I do it!"
8. Best book, magazine, source of information?
Runner's World magazine was great in the 70's! My book Boston Marathon: How to Qualify is a good source of information not only for runners looking to qualify for Boston, but runners in general. Mental Training for Runners is another of my books that helps runners with the mental aspect of the sport.
9. What injuries have you had? How did you overcome them?
I had an Achilles tendon injury and a series of consistent problems with it. Aside from the Achilles injury, I ran through mostly everything else and was fortunate not to have injuries that stopped me from running. For the first 20 years I was injured about 3 weeks in all, but after that for about 40 years I did not have running-related injuries because of the run-walk-run method I created and utilized.
10. What mistakes did you make?
Running too many hard days in a row. That was the brilliance of the Bowerman's hard-easy [principle of running].
11. What challenges did you face with running?
I looked at opportunities to be my best. I really didn't have any walls put up in front of me to prevent me from doing that.
12. Tell me about your training.
I had to interview successful coaches and athletes and learn from their experiences.
13. What was your weekly mileage?
I don't think I would have made the Olympic team if I didn't increase miles significantly. Yet I don't know if 140 miles/week was best over those 2 years. High mileage was a benefit, but 200 miles/week was counterproductive at that time.
14. Do you think you would have been successful doing half that mileage?
With distance running you have to put money in the bank [put in the miles]. Alternating high/low mileage weeks would have been better, but I didn't do it.
15. Tell me about your weight training.
I do postural muscle strengthening and this is what I recommend
16. How much of your training is done independently/alone vs. supervised/with a group?
I trained with Ken Misner most days for my first year at FSU. Then Ken went into the Air Force.
Most of my training, I did alone during the 2 years during the Olympic trials and after that. Immediately before the trials I did group training at Vail for 8 weeks and that helped.
17. How does weather and/or location affect your training?
Training in Florida was a huge benefit for me. I tolerated the heat better than others. Training in adverse conditions is also advantageous.
18. What are your thoughts on altitude training?
It works! There is not enough research on sleeping in tents at altitude.
19. What are your doubts and how did you overcome them?
I never expected to be a world class athlete. I focused on getting to where I wanted to be one step at a time and didn't focus on doubts.
20. How do you manage conflicting philosophies/opinions with coaches, sponsors, family, and/or teammates?
I sorted through things I thought may be beneficial and looked at the research myself.
21. What are your thoughts about nutrition?
Most athletes and Olympic athletes [in particular] succeeded in spite of their nutrition, not because of it. My nutrition was not very good.
22. What type of nutrition do you consider critical to your success?
Keeping my blood sugar up was important. Every 1.5-year period I would increase mileage and it was difficult to keep my blood sugar up. I ate lots of Breyers ice cream.
23. Discuss sleep. How much sleep do you require?
Today 5-6 hours/night. When I was younger, I needed 7-8 hours/night. I felt I could catch up if I had sustained less sleep.
24. Have you run your easy run too long/hard?
Back then I'd run 20-mile easy runs all easy. Today, I do the run-walk-run.
25. What kind of impact/influence do you have on others?
I feel fortunate because the methods are latched. I find more and more people/followers, and some have said, "You saved my life!"
26. What do you do outside of running?
I travel and enjoy interconnecting with people.
27. What would you do if you were not a professional runner?
I taught 4th grade after the Olympics, but that did not work out. I would teach fitness/running.
28. Favorite places?
I love Atlanta as a home base. They have a supportive community for fitness. I also like the panhandle of Florida where we have a second house. In the 60s-70s I was in Carmel year-round and enjoy that area as well.
29. Favorite marathon?
Olympic trials
Lake Tahoe Running Retreat with Jeff Galloway July 2019
Thank you, Jeff Galloway, for the interview. You are an inspiration to many. —Cathleen Willy