the galloway marathon training program

"dave jones" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

as the galloway program is about to gear up here in my
area i would like

to

Quoted message said:

hear from those who have take part in this program. is the
galloway method an effective way to train for a marathon
and worth the cost? or can one do just as well of a job in
getting ready to run a marathon(first timers) by training
either on their own or with a couple of fellow runners?
thanks in advance for your responses. dave

The Galloway method of walk/run to be able to finish a
marathon is a controversial subject here for various
reasons, mainly based on the premise that they didn't train
properly for the event, and also may cause problems on the
course itself with the constant stopping and starting.

I'm pretty noncommital about it, but I lean towards the
belief that you really should train to try to run the whole
thing, even if you end up having to have a short walk break
or two near the end. The very nature of the marathon
distance is what makes the race so much of an accomplishment
to complete, after training properly for
it.

There's lots of beginners programs on the web that call for
running the whole thing, and they are free. Also, there's
many people here that have plenty of experience - also free.
Whatever you do, best of luck.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most
insecure people are the ones you see, putting other people
down constantly."

In article said:

as the galloway program is about to gear up here in my
area i would like to hear from those who have take part in
this program. is the galloway method an effective way to
train for a marathon and worth the cost? or can one do
just as well of a job in getting ready to run a
marathon(first timers) by training either on their own or
with a couple of fellow runners? thanks in advance for
your responses. dave

First, before spending any money, it's important to be clear
on what you're actually paying for.

The Galloway method is not patented. One can purchase his
books for a reasonable price or even search for his training
plans on the web. The package that's offered may include
coaching, group sessions, lectures/clinics, etc. Look into
it and decide whether it's worth it. It's unlikely that
you're paying money to use Galloway's methods -- you can use
these without signing up for any program.

There are a number of issues in here worth discussing:

(1) group training

Group training is mostly important for speed work IMO, and
not as helpful for just doing easy miles (because running
with other people tends to make everyone faster). A
beginners marathon training is mostly just about getting the
miles in unless you have a fair amount of experience racing
other distances.

But doing the miles on your own requires a fair amount of
motivation.

You can do group training via signing up for some program
or by just having a training partner. Both of these are
good options.

(2) coaching

This is obviously quite useful if you can get one on one
training advice from people who know their stuff and are
actually watching you training.

(3) setting up a program

An intelligent and motivated person can usually do a
reasonable job of this. There is an abundance of marathon
training programs out there that make it pretty clear what
level of ability they address.

(4) the Galloway method

This is quite controversial as has been pointed out.
Personally I wouldn't be happy with walking during a
marathon or any other road race, but then it probably
wouldn't be optimal pacing for me anyway. Some people
(especially undertrained "marathon runners"😉 like this
way of running. Others do well on other programs.
Galloway is generally not regarded as the last word on
marathon training.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

"Donovan Rebbechi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, dave

jones said:

as the galloway program is about to gear up here in my
area i would like

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

hear from those who have take part in this program. is
the galloway

method

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

an effective way to train for a marathon and worth the
cost? or can one

do

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

just as well of a job in getting ready to run a
marathon(first timers)

by

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

training either on their own or with a couple of fellow
runners? thanks

in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

advance for your responses. dave

First, before spending any money, it's important to be
clear on what

you're

Quoted message said:

actually paying for.

The Galloway method is not patented. One can purchase his
books for a

reasonable

Quoted message said:

price or even search for his training plans on the web.
The package that's offered may include coaching, group
sessions, lectures/clinics, etc. Look

into

Quoted message said:

it and decide whether it's worth it. It's unlikely that
you're paying money to use Galloway's methods -- you can
use these without signing up

for any

Quoted message said:

program.

There are a number of issues in here worth discussing:

(1) group training

Group training is mostly important for speed work IMO, and
not as helpful

for

Quoted message said:

just doing easy miles (because running with other people
tends to make

everyone

Quoted message said:

faster). A beginners marathon training is mostly just
about getting the

miles

Quoted message said:

in unless you have a fair amount of experience racing
other distances.

This is individual. I worked for Jeff Galloway at one
time and have run several group training programs as
well. Many beginners (and advanced runners) find doing
long runs with others to be beneficial in terms of
keeping the runs from being a lonely adventure to also
motivating the training during the rest of the week ("I
gotta train the rest of the week to make sure I can hang
with the group on Saturday" is one quote from a graduate
of one of my running programs).

Quoted message said:

But doing the miles on your own requires a fair amount of
motivation.

You can do group training via signing up for some program
or by just

having a

Quoted message said:

training partner. Both of these are good options.

yes they are but a training partner might not be there
often enough whereas a group of several people gives you
lots of options. /

Dave,

Running a marathon is a big commitment of time and energy.
When I decided to run a marathon (after running no more than
7 miles at a time) I joined a Galloway group and the
information plus the motivation I got pulled me through.
Saturday I will rejoin the group for the third year. Trying
to do a marathon without a group, any group with some
experienced runners, seems like the hard way to go.

Bob, first marathon at 60 years old

"dave jones" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:eNqdnbCqAOkntejdRVn-
[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

as the galloway program is about to gear up here in my
area i would like

to

Quoted message said:

hear from those who have take part in this program. is the
galloway method an effective way to train for a marathon
and worth the cost? or can one do just as well of a job in
getting ready to run a marathon(first timers) by training
either on their own or with a couple of fellow runners?
thanks in advance for your responses. dave

bob: i spoke today with the owners of the specialty running shoe store where
i conduct my business. one of the owners is a former division ii all
amercian back in the late 60's and the other ran in the 1968 olympic trials
in the marathon. so they know their stuff and i trust their opinion. i asked
them about the galloway program and whether it is worth the money. both of
them were not positive in their appraisal of this method of preparing for a
marathon. what they did not like was all the walking breaks plus the limited
amount of training in terms of mileage during the week prior to the long run
on saturday.
now i happen to be an experienced runner for the past 34 years(i am 51)
however i have never run or trained for a marathon prior to now. i have been
strictly a 5k/10k/ cross country runner(my pr in the 10k is 35:41) anyway i
was told by the 2 owners of the running store to read and follow the
training methods in hal higdon's book "marathon the ultimate training guide"
then they suggested that i take part in my track club's group run every
thursday night.(i normally train by myself. this way i do not have to keep
up with anyone else's pace nor would they have to keep up with mine) they
feel that this would be just as effective if not more so to prepare for the
marathon(i am running the new york city marathon this november). so i think
i am going to follow the advice of my 2 friends and go that route. thanks
for the feedback bob and good luck in your running. dave
"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dave,

Running a marathon is a big commitment of time and energy.
When I decided to run a marathon (after running no more
than 7 miles at a time) I joined

a

Quoted message said:

Galloway group and the information plus the motivation I
got pulled me through. Saturday I will rejoin the group
for the third year. Trying to

do

Quoted message said:

a marathon without a group, any group with some
experienced runners, seems like the hard way to go.

Bob, first marathon at 60 years old

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(1) group training

Group training is mostly important for speed work IMO,
and not as helpful

for

Quoted message said:

just doing easy miles (because running with other people
tends to make

everyone

Quoted message said:

faster). A beginners marathon training is mostly just
about getting the

miles

Quoted message said:

in unless you have a fair amount of experience racing
other distances.

This is individual. I worked for Jeff Galloway at one
time and have run several group training programs as
well. Many beginners (and advanced runners) find doing
long runs with others to be beneficial in terms of
keeping the runs from being a lonely adventure to also
motivating the training during the rest of the week
("I gotta train the rest of the week to make sure I
can hang with the group on Saturday" is one quote from
a graduate of one of my running programs).

Quoted message said:

But doing the miles on your own requires a fair amount
of motivation.

You can do group training via signing up for some
program or by just

having a

Quoted message said:

training partner. Both of these are good options.

yes they are but a training partner might not be there
often enough whereas a group of several people gives you
lots of options.

I've done a half-marathon with my local Galloway group, and
agree that there is a significant benefit to having a group
of people to train with. Actually, for me, it was more than
just "several people". We had 5 or 6 pacing groups, and
there were typically 5-8 people in each (fewer for the half,
but that was for a new local half marathon), so plenty of
good company for a long run, plus support benefits such as
route maps and water/snacks. I wasn't thrilled with the
actual weekly training program as sent out by the corporate
office - it was a very minimalistic program. Despite the
size of our group, the pace group leaders were informally
recruited from previous seasons, without any particular
instruction (this I know, as I was later a pace group
leader), but were obviously the main source of information
for the people in their pace group.

You'll have to personally consider whether or not you
consider the run-walk method to be "real running". I've
"moved past" Galloway now, (although I miss the people in
the group), and admit that I feel "more like a real runner"
now. But that group got me a long way towards where I am now
(my next half marathon is May, the Indy Mini-marathon).

Margaret

dave jones said:

bob: i spoke today with the owners of the specialty
running shoe store where i conduct my business. one of the
owners is a former division ii all amercian back in the
late 60's and the other ran in the 1968 olympic trials in
the marathon. so they know their stuff and i trust their
opinion. i asked them about the galloway program and
whether it is worth the money. both of them were not
positive in their appraisal of this method of preparing
for a marathon. what they did not like was all the walking
breaks plus the limited amount of training in terms of
mileage during the week prior to the long run on saturday.

Welcome to the controversial world of marathon preparation.
I don't know the specifics of the Galloway program(s) you
are referencing. If it is a specific program geared to
beginners especially those with very minimum base and no
marathon experience, it may not be appropriate for you.
Please be aware that Galloway has lot's of marathon programs
from the beginner through the 2:38 idealist.

It seems that Galloway gets labeled only for his beginners
program and people go in a coma for his other training. So
for the purpose of this discussion let's keep it to the
beginners program.

First of all asking speed demons about walking breaks in
training is like telling a vegetarian he can't eat
balanced without meat. Sorry but you talking about the
macho set who have more of a psychological problem with
walking than a physical.

If you read Galloway he does not say you must walk but his
goal is to get you spend the time on you feet before the
marathon and if taking a walk break gets you this goal then
do it. He feels the time on you feet WITHOUT risking injury
is the smart. I don't know about how you feel but that makes
damn good sense to me.

While I'm stuck in an ultra rut I have run dozens of
marathons including 10 Boston's so I have/had some speed.
To further qualify, no I never walked a step in training
for a marathon but that's because I never had a problem
with long runs to include the controversial 24-28 mile long
runs. OTOH I do advocate walking breaks if it gets you time
on your feet without tearing you apart. As Galloway says,
"From the ultra-distance runners I've learned you can walk
for 5 minutes every 25-30 minutes and build endurance with
less stress."

About 50% of the people that train for a marathon don't get
to the starting line. If a runner is in the macho club
claiming that training or even running the marathon with a
walk break is of less value then pick another program. If
your goal is to get to starting AND finish line then maybe
it's best to take a more conservative tact and get one under
your belt.

Quoted message said:

now i happen to be an experienced runner for the past 34
years(i am 51) however i have never run or trained for a
marathon prior to now. i have been strictly a 5k/10k/
cross country runner(my pr in the 10k is 35:41) anyway i
was told by the 2 owners of the running store to read
and follow the training methods in hal higdon's book
"marathon the ultimate training guide"

Groan! 🙂 Higdon just like Galloway has programs for
beginners through advanced. By the way from Higdon's
beginners schedule - "LSD: Long, slow distance runs of 1 1/2
to 3 hours in duration. These runs may include brief breaks
for walking, stretching, hydrating, and bathroom visits.
Beginners often cover these runs at their goal marathon
pace, or slightly slower."

Notice Higdon also advocates walking. Almost all training
programs advocate walking but Galloway gets labeled for only
offering one.

In your case yo have obvious speed and you probably do
sufficient mileage to achieve sub 36 10k. I would not
suspect you would need a beginners schedule. If the Galloway
folks offer multiprograms then it may be a good value. You
obviously have lots of fast twitch muscles and you may find
that once you get into the 18-22 range a small walk break
might be necessary if you body severely balks but not for
all you runs.

Quoted message said:

then they suggested that i take part in my track club's
group run every thursday night.(i normally train by
myself. this way i do not have to keep up with anyone
else's pace nor would they have to keep up with mine) they
feel that this would be just as effective if not more so
to prepare for the marathon(i am running the new york city
marathon this november).

Group track runs are great. My only concern is someone takes
your 10k time and runs(pun intended) off the to 10k to
marathon charts and says you should be abel to run a 2:50 or
even a three hour marathon and all you track work is geared
to that goal.

Quoted message said:

so i think i am going to follow the advice of my 2 friends
and go that route. thanks for the feedback bob and good
luck in your running.

In all fairness I would look further into what Galloway
programs are being offered and see if one does fit your
abilities. Remember all marathon programs are meant to guide
you. You will need to make changes to meet your strengths
and weaknesses. After my first three or four I borrowed
pieces of about four programs and yes galloway was one.

Good luck at whatever direction you take but do yourself a
favor and have fun at you first and screw the clock.

P.S. If we want to rip Galloway I would pick on his working
up to 10-13Xmile tracks workouts which I think he has
backed off since his book.

--
Doug Freese "Caveat Lector" [email hidden]

[email hidden] (mwright) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(1) group training

Group training is mostly important for speed work IMO,
and not as helpful

for

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

just doing easy miles (because running with other
people tends to make

everyone

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

faster). A beginners marathon training is mostly just
about getting the

miles

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in unless you have a fair amount of experience racing
other distances.

This is individual. I worked for Jeff Galloway at
one time and have run several group training
programs as well. Many beginners (and advanced
runners) find doing long runs with others to be
beneficial in terms of keeping the runs from being a
lonely adventure to also motivating the training
during the rest of the week ("I gotta train the rest
of the week to make sure I can hang with the group
on Saturday" is one quote from a graduate of one of
my running programs).

Quoted message said:

But doing the miles on your own requires a fair amount
of motivation.

You can do group training via signing up for some
program or by just

having a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

training partner. Both of these are good options.

yes they are but a training partner might not be there
often enough whereas a group of several people gives
you lots of options.

I've done a half-marathon with my local Galloway group,
and agree that there is a significant benefit to having a
group of people to train with. Actually, for me, it was
more than just "several people". We had 5 or 6 pacing
groups, and there were typically 5-8 people in each (fewer
for the half, but that was for a new local half marathon),
so plenty of good company for a long run, plus support
benefits such as route maps and water/snacks. I wasn't
thrilled with the actual weekly training program as sent
out by the corporate office - it was a very minimalistic
program. Despite the size of our group, the pace group
leaders were informally recruited from previous seasons,
without any particular instruction (this I know, as I was
later a pace group leader), but were obviously the main
source of information for the people in their pace group.

You'll have to personally consider whether or not you
consider the run-walk method to be "real running". I've
"moved past" Galloway now, (although I miss the people in
the group), and admit that I feel "more like a real
runner" now. But that group got me a long way towards
where I am now (my next half marathon is May, the Indy Mini-
marathon).

Margaret

I think a lot of runners have a problem with Galloway's
method in that he is using the run/walk as a way of getting
more people into his program. Why bother? Why not just walk
the whole marathon in about 6 hours? No training required.

tkb

In article said:

I think a lot of runners have a problem with Galloway's
method in that he is using the run/walk as a way of
getting more people into his program. Why bother? Why not
just walk the whole marathon in about 6 hours? No training
required.

I think you're onto something here. In fact there are
already walkers -- all it needs is someone to
huckster^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hmarket it. Just tell them they can
finish the race faster if they walk, or something like that.
Market it as a more "inclusive" way of marathoning, as
opposed to the "elitist" Galloway method.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

"dave jones" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

bob: i spoke today with the owners of the specialty
running shoe store where i conduct my business. one of the
owners is a former division ii all amercian back in the
late 60's and the other ran in the 1968 olympic trials in
the marathon. so they know their stuff and i trust their
opinion. i asked them about the galloway program and
whether it is worth the money. both of them were not
positive in their appraisal of this method of preparing
for a marathon. what they did not like was all the walking
breaks plus the limited amount of training in terms of
mileage during the week prior to the long run on saturday.
now i happen to be an experienced runner for the past 34
years(i am 51) however i have never run or trained for a
marathon prior to now. i have been strictly a 5k/10k/
cross country runner(my pr in the 10k is 35:41) anyway i
was told by the 2 owners of the running store to read and
follow the training methods in hal higdon's book "marathon
the ultimate training guide" then they suggested that i
take part in my track club's group run every thursday
night.(i normally train by myself. this way i do not have
to keep up with anyone else's pace nor would they have to
keep up with mine) they feel that this would be just as
effective if not more so to prepare for the marathon(i am
running the new york city marathon this november). so i
think i am going to follow the advice of my 2 friends and
go that route. thanks for the feedback bob and good luck
in your running. dave "Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message -"]news:[email hidden]-
thlink.net...

Quoted message said:

Dave,

Running a marathon is a big commitment of time and
energy. When I decided to run a marathon (after running
no more than 7 miles at a time) I joined

a

Quoted message said:

Galloway group and the information plus the motivation I
got pulled me through. Saturday I will rejoin the group
for the third year. Trying to

do

Quoted message said:

a marathon without a group, any group with some
experienced runners, seems like the hard way to go.

Bob, first marathon at 60 years old

Dave,

It sounds like you for the answer that works for you. Since
you are an experienced runner, I would agree that getting
some group training will help a lot.

I've used the Galloway training plan, though I never joined
(or paid for) a Galloway group. A lot of my training runs
were all alone, but I did also run with a neighbor who is
an experienced marathoner. IMO, the Galloway plan is good
for real beginners. I never did do the run/walk in the
training or the race, but I did walk one mile in my
marathon (as I planned).

The benefits I see in Galloway's approach:
A.the emphasis on "going the distance" BEFORE the
actual race.
B.the structured build up (this isn't so specific to him) of
the long run.
C.the understanding that walking is a viable OPTION.

Of those three, I'd say (A)"going the distance" BEFORE the
actual race was the most beneficial to me.

Galloway may be controversial, but as the saying goes "if it
works, use it."

Enjoy your training! Ed

In article <[email hidden]>,

(mwright) said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(1) group training

Quoted message said:

I've done a half-marathon with my local Galloway group,
and agree that there is a significant benefit to having a
group of people to train with. Actually, for me, it was
more than just "several people". We had 5 or 6 pacing
groups, and there were typically 5-8 people in each (fewer
for the half, but that was for a new local half marathon),
so plenty of good company for a long run, plus support
benefits such as route maps and water/snacks. I wasn't
thrilled with the actual weekly training program as sent
out by the corporate office - it was a very minimalistic
program. Despite the size of our group, the pace group
leaders were informally recruited from previous seasons,
without any particular instruction (this I know, as I was
later a pace group leader), but were obviously the main
source of information for the people in their pace group.

You'll have to personally consider whether or not you
consider the run-walk method to be "real running". I've
"moved past" Galloway now, (although I miss the people in
the group), and admit that I feel "more like a real
runner" now. But that group got me a long way towards
where I am now (my next half marathon is May, the Indy Mini-
marathon).

Margaret

my take on this:

i never considered the run-walk method to be truly running a
race, esp. in my first few years of running. i can now
seeing the benefit of something like this in training for
the much longer distances. when i got into half marathons
and then a marathon, i ran the whole way every time. i had
troubles here and there in the marathon training and might
have benefitted from the run-walk stuff... in training. and
maybe a less frequent walk break in the actual race could
have made it a more comfortable race for me... like maybe a
walk every half hour or so.

as for the group thing, i trained with a group for a while
and while it was nice and social, it didn't serve my goals
that well, unless it was to be an easygoing longer run.
these folks did the run-walk thing, and i was always of the
OTHER school (no walking). whatever works for ya,

Cam

tenkbabe said:

[email hidden] (mwright) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>(1) group training
>
>Group training is mostly important for speed work IMO,
>and not as helpful

for

Quoted message said:

>just doing easy miles (because running with other people
>tends to make

everyone

Quoted message said:

>faster). A beginners marathon training is mostly just
>about getting the

miles

Quoted message said:

>in unless you have a fair amount of experience racing
>other distances.

This is individual. I worked for Jeff Galloway at one
time and have run several group training programs as
well. Many beginners (and advanced runners) find
doing long runs with others to be beneficial in terms
of keeping the runs from being a lonely adventure to
also motivating the training during the rest of the
week ("I gotta train the rest of the week to make
sure I can hang with the group on Saturday" is one
quote from a graduate of one of my running programs).

>But doing the miles on your own requires a fair amount
>of motivation.
>
>You can do group training via signing up for some
>program or by just

having a

Quoted message said:

>training partner. Both of these are good options.

yes they are but a training partner might not be there
often enough whereas a group of several people gives
you lots of options.

I've done a half-marathon with my local Galloway group,
and agree that there is a significant benefit to having a
group of people to train with. Actually, for me, it was
more than just "several people". We had 5 or 6 pacing
groups, and there were typically 5-8 people in each (fewer
for the half, but that was for a new local half marathon),
so plenty of good company for a long run, plus support
benefits such as route maps and water/snacks. I wasn't
thrilled with the actual weekly training program as sent
out by the corporate office - it was a very minimalistic
program. Despite the size of our group, the pace group
leaders were informally recruited from previous seasons,
without any particular instruction (this I know, as I was
later a pace group leader), but were obviously the main
source of information for the people in their pace group.

You'll have to personally consider whether or not you
consider the run-walk method to be "real running". I've
"moved past" Galloway now, (although I miss the people in
the group), and admit that I feel "more like a real
runner" now. But that group got me a long way towards
where I am now (my next half marathon is May, the Indy Mini-
marathon).

Margaret

I think a lot of runners have a problem with Galloway's
method in that he is using the run/walk as a way of
getting more people into his program. Why bother? Why not
just walk the whole marathon in about 6 hours? No training
required.

Right, like walking 26.2 miles is well within the grasps of
any couch potato not willing to let go of the remote to go
out for a walk, much less a run.

--
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,-
,ø¤º eNo "If you can't go fast, go long." ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°-
`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º

"tenkbabe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (mwright) wrote in message

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Quoted message said:

I think a lot of runners have a problem with Galloway's
method in that he is using the run/walk as a way of
getting more people into his program. Why bother? Why not
just walk the whole marathon in about 6 hours? No training
required.

I imagine it would take closer to 9 hours for the average
untrained individual.

Matthew

<snip>> I imagine it would take closer to 9 hours for the
average untrained

Quoted message said:

individual.

Matthew

If he/she finished at all. J