Hi, Jeff. My friends think if you don’t run the entire way, you didn’t do it right. How do you deal with it?

Question: My friends think that walking is “less important” and that if you don’t run the entire way, you didn’t do it right.  How do you deal with it? 

Jeff: In every area of life there are individuals who will tell you that the only way to do something is the way that they do it.  According to an original source, all of the marathoners in the first marathon race in Athens (1896 Olympics) walked significant portions of the race.  By nature, running is a self empowering activity and each of us can choose how fast, how far and how many walk breaks we use on each run.  If anyone says that run/walk/run is not doing it right, ask for the rule book that excludes walk breaks.  They cannot, because each of us makes our own rule book.

Jeff Galloway smiling near a lake with city skyline in the distance.
Jeff Galloway

Jeff Galloway, US Olympian and creator of the Run-Walk-Run method, has helped over 350,000 runners achieve their goals through his innovative training programs. As Runner's World's monthly columnist and author of North America's best-selling running book, Jeff has spent over 50 years sharing his expertise and continues to conduct running seminars worldwide as runDisney's Official Training Consultant.

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