Jeffing: the run-walk method that will help you reach the finish line of the marathon
Jeff Galloway has run more than 230 marathons. He was a member of the U.S. team at the 1972 Munich Olympics, has a 10K personal best of about 28 minutes, and has been a running coach for more than 50 years. But perhaps the 79-year-old’s greatest achievement is creating the run-walk method known as ‘Jeffing’, which can be practiced by beginners and experienced runners alike.
“Firstly, I have to say how proud I am to be a verb,” says Galloway, before explaining that the idea goes back to 1973. “I encouraged beginners to start running, but they were suffering from all kinds of aches and pains. Then I realized that even world-class athletes need a good warm-up. They start with a low intensity jog and then speed up to get the blood flowing.
“So I took that pace-changing template and applied it to a group of 22 people with an average age of 42. We started walking, turned into jogging, then walked again. We followed that pattern and by the end of the ten-week program each of the 22 participants had completed a distance of 5 or 10 km. That in itself was great, but I then realized that no one in the group was destroyed by injury. I had never trained a group of runners where at least one wasn’t injured.”
Galloway says he hasn’t had an injury since 1978. He believes his walk-run strategy is “more natural” than non-stop efforts. “According to anthropologists, although humans were designed for long distances – up to 5,000 miles during the earliest migrations – we were not designed to run non-stop. It’s not inherently in our DNA to run all the time, and that’s why a lot of people break down.”
Because Jeffing reduces the risk of injury, people can exercise consistently, with all the mental and physical benefits that entails. Galloway describes these benefits as “circuits.” “The ‘good posture’ circuit makes your stress go away,” he says. “You then have the ‘vitality circuit’. You may lack energy at the beginning (of your workout), but once you get started you will have energy for the day. This feedback kept our ancestors going as they searched for food. Finally, you have the empowerment circuit. Go to Jeffing and you will usually find a solution to your problems.
As for the physical restart, running and walking are classified as cardio exercises, which improve blood and oxygen flow, resulting in better cardiovascular health and better weight management. “You burn the fat,” he says. ‘Look at me. I am 79 and am exactly the same size as at the Olympic Games (1972).
Everyone is welcome
All this is achieved, he says, with less strain on your body. This resonates with Sandra Haynes, 57, from Liskeard in Cornwall, who started running in 2016. “It has improved my fitness no end,” she says. “My mental health is better too, and it helps with the symptoms of menopause. All in all, it’s the sustainability of staying fit while talking and laughing with like-minded people. I hope I’m still doing this when I’m seventy. Just like our group…“
Haynes founded Stream runs through Cornwall in 2021. Initially they offered a Run-30 course similar to Bank up to 5kdesigned so that you can run continuously for 30 minutes at the end of the program. The group thrived, but Haynes noted that many suffered injuries. “Then we offered a Jeffing option. It really took off; in fact, we have more Jeffers than continuous runners. Many would have given up on sports if Jeffing wasn’t an option.”
Haynes says between 15 and 25 people meet twice a week for a Jeffing session, with a mix of ages and genders. They split into two groups and offered a 3km or 5km option. There is a leader in the front, a tail man in the back and they adjust the walk-run strategy depending on the terrain and how they are feeling.
Huffing and puffing? Time to walk
If you’re trying Jeffing yourself, use huffing and puffing as your guide, says Galloway: “Once you start huffing and puffing, take a walking break. In many cases it is more accurate than using a heart monitor.”
When starting out, this may mean walking intervals of one or two minutes, followed by longer walking intervals. Do this for about 20 minutes. Over time, running intervals become longer, while walking intervals become shorter. The entire session can also become longer depending on your goals. For some, this might just be Jeffing with a friend. For others it can be a race.
“I Jeff all my events, and my goal for 2025 is to complete a 10-mile event,” says Haynes. “I’ve met a lot of Jeffers who run marathons, half marathons, 5Ks and 10Ks. The Girls that Jeff Facebook page is a big supporter of Jeffing. I recently met an experienced runner who was going to Jeff, the Boston Marathon.
Race winners
Surprisingly, Jeffing doesn’t necessarily mean losing speed. Galloway says experienced runners would come up to him to ask about his method when they saw beginner Jeffers finish a marathon faster than them. This is supported by a Research from 2016 in the Journal for Science and Medicine in Sport which showed that non-elite Jeffing participants reached the finish line of a marathon in about the same time as non-stop runners. A mixed-gender group of race walkers finished in times ranging between 4:14 and 4:34, while the run-only group’s times ranged from 4:07 to 4:34.
“We found in our database that 30 seconds is the maximum walking time that provides the greatest benefit,” says Galloway. “This results in a good pace and recalibrates muscle fatigue levels from the start. Take a 26-mile marathon. When you’re halfway through, you won’t even feel tired in your legs for 21 kilometers; it’s more like 10 or 11 miles. In many races our Jeffing people are the ones at the end passing people. And there is nothing more exciting in life than that!” That’s why, he adds, about 40% of those who enroll in one of their training programs are experienced runners hoping to finish faster or keep running until they’re 100.
If you’re an experienced runner, you might be thinking: what’s the difference between Jeffing and fartlek – a training protocol that alternates between sprinting and jogging? “They are similar, but with fartleks there is no strict definition of when and how long you will sprint. And in Jeffing you don’t really sprint,” says Galloway. “With Jeffing you start with a fixed walking/running ratio, although you can change this during a session if you feel stronger or weaker. It’s up to the individual.”
Galloway is a 100% Jeffer and has been for years. It has kept him fit and he believes it saved his life. “Three years ago I had a heart attack due to exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.” The US used this chemical herbicide to clear forest leaves and expose the hiding Viet Cong. “It led to a blockage of the right artery. No blood got through, but I survived thanks to collateral circulation (reserve blood vessels that take over when an artery or vein is blocked). My doctor said if I had tried to run consistently non-stop, this would have happened twenty years earlier and I would be dead. Luckily I’m a Jeffing addict. There are worse things to be addicted to.”