Training for a First Marathon
Using Galloway Run-Walk Method in Long-Distance Running
Walking is often alternated with jogging in the early months of becoming a runner yet most runners can benefit from including walking in their training for marathons.
Marathoners might expect to be walking (and then running/jogging) by mile 10, mile 17 or mile 21 in their first 26.2 mile race. Blending walking into a running training plan and racing is a respectable way to get around both point-to-point and out-and-back marathon courses and is at the heart of the Galloway Run-Walk Method.
Galloway Run-Walk Method
US Olympian athlete Jeff Galloway explains the field-tested methods in his books which include Marathon: You Can Do It! and Walking: the Complete Book. Walking for a minute is included as a break to running throughout the run or race to completion.
The runner decides upon the set interval for running and alternates this with the one minute walk. Drawing upon mile markers or time goals, popular alternates are:-
- Run a mile, walk a minute, run a mile, walk a minute and so on
- Run at 10K pace, walk a minute, run at 10K pace, walk a minute and so on
- Run a minute, walk a minute, run a minute, walk a minute and so on
Coaches and runners agree that the Run-Walk Method can produce faster times and healthier running in marathoners. With a reported success rate of over 98%, the run-walk and low mileage marathon training plan designed by Galloway has enduring appeal to the first-time marathoner.
Run-Walking a Faster Marathon
Mass participation marathons often have a 10.00 start in the morning. Confident application of the Galloway Run-Walk Method in a race will require determination and tenacity to walk early at the outset of the marathon course.
A runner who crossed the line at 10.12 with a twelve minute mile marathon pace could be walking at 10.25. Run-walking their marathon, the same runner would be walking for 25 minutes only with a run a mile, walk a minute 25 times, run a mile and then sprint finish to a respectable time of around 5 hours for a first-time marathon. Such an approach may leave them feeling fresh enough to celebrate their achievement with family and friends in the evening.
Towards Healthier Training
Introducing walk a minute offers interval training during long runs during training. Run a mile-walk a minute reduces the chance of burnout and injury related to moving up to a longer distance and offers easier building up miles, increased variety and better speedwork. Established runners, including Amby Burfoot in the Runner’s World Guide to Running, encourage other athletes to shift to Galloway’s run-walk method for healthier training.
Long Distance Running
Thousands of marathoners – first timers and others - know the horrors of running too quickly in the early miles and running out of energy to complete. Facing potential disappointment with their chip times and exhaustion afterwards, many marathoners discard the distance as not for them after their first one.
Most runners competing in ultra marathons of 100 miles or more will alternate running and walking. While the Galloway Run-Walk Method does not guarantee that it works for everyone – the evidence from distance running suggests that it is worth trying out in a runner’s first marathon.
