Latest news with #JeffGalloway
Tom's Guide
07-06-2025
- Health
- Tom's Guide
I swapped running for 'Jeffing' for a week — and now I'm hooked
Let me set the scene — I'm on the train in Berlin, heading to the start line of my third marathon, absolutely terrified. I'd set myself the goal of running sub-four hours, and I'd been training for months to make it happen. Sitting next to me, a German woman chats, trying to ease my worries. 'I'm going to be Jeffing,' she tells me. It wasn't till I was back home, marathon medal still on, having achieved my goal, that I thought back to this conversation. What on earth is Jeffing, and why hadn't I heard of it before? Six years and two marathons later, I tried it for the first time, and I'm hooked. Read on to find out more. Jeffing is a run, walk technique developed by US Olympian Jeff Galloway. In simple terms, you run for a bit, then you walk, allowing you to keep going for longer. 'By alternating running and walking from the start, runners stay strong, recover faster and finish feeling good,' says Galloway. Instead of setting out for a run, and continuing at the same pace, Jeffing involves running for between 10-60 seconds, then walking for 30 seconds, from the beginning of the workout. The intervals are flexible — if you're a more experienced runner, you might want to increase the running element, or decrease the amount of time spent walking. As long as there's some form of walking interval from the offset, you're Jeffing. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. I'll admit, like many runners, I've always been afraid to walk. I vividly remember working with a running coach who had to force me to stand still and recover between intervals on the track. I'll even try and jog through water stations on race day. I wasn't expecting to like this challenge, but read on to find out what happened when I tried Jeffing for a week. Of course, a week isn't long enough to see any performance gains, but I didn't feel as exhausted as I would if I'd run for seven days in a row. I'm currently 15 months postpartum, and normally run three times a week for around five miles. I'm not training for anything in particular, and instead, I use my runs to boost my mood and reduce stress. That said, as I rebuild my fitness, I've definitely felt it in my legs when I've pushed myself too hard, and not properly recovered, with a toddler who doesn't sleep. For this week, I swapped my morning walks with 30 minutes of Jeffing, and on the days my little boy went to nursery, I ran/walked for longer. By the end of the week, I'd clocked more miles than I'd normally have done, but I felt completely fine in my body. When done long term, one of the benefits of Jeffing is improved endurance, as the walk breaks allow you to keep running for longer. It can also help you reduce your likelihood of injuries, as the impact is slightly reduced. Running injuries like shin splints or knee pain are common and often caused by overuse. It sounds very poetic, but one of my favorite things about running is the fact that I get to escape. I put a podcast or an audiobook on, and I forget about work and the mountain of chores waiting for me when I get home. On the first couple of days of Jeffing, I found that I was constantly checking my watch, waiting for my 3-minute run interval to be over. I didn't feel like I could switch off, so instead, I decided to build the workout on my watch the night before. Programming the workout into the Garmin Connect app, my Garmin Forerunner 570 buzzed every time I needed to switch pace. This allowed me to get lost in my book again, without having to keep glancing at the screen. Of course, this isn't essential — you can use the stopwatch function on your smartphone, or an old-school stopwatch and run without any device, but if you have one of the best running watches, or best Apple Watches, I'd recommend building the workout beforehand and syncing it to your watch. By the end of the week, I was, once again, getting sick. My toddler is a walking petri dish of bugs since he started nursery, and my immune system hasn't quite caught up yet. I didn't expect to enjoy Jeffing so much. Sure, it's not the fastest I'd run, but it's the first time in a long time I've run every day for a week — and I came to enjoy the walking breaks. While I'd normally skip the run, I decided to continue Jeffing, but reducing the run interval to 60 seconds and walking for 30 seconds. While I'd never recommend running when you're ill (always listen to your body), I found I was able to keep going, and the movement and fresh air helped me feel more like myself. I didn't expect to enjoy Jeffing so much. Sure, it's not the fastest I'd run — I didn't set any PR's, but it's the first time in a long time I've run every day for a week, and I came to enjoy the walking breaks. If you're a beginner, this is a fantastic way to build up your running distances. If you're training for a marathon, Jeffing on your easy runs might be a great way to avoid overuse injuries that might keep you from the start line. Whatever your goal, grab a pair of the best running shoes and get Jeffing — you won't regret it.
Daily Maverick
29-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Jeffing: How this run-walk method could help you train for a marathon
Running doesn't have to be all or nothing. Jeffing, the run-walk strategy developed in the 1970s, is helping people achieve their running goals. Even if you're a runner, you may not have heard the term 'Jeffing' before. It's a method of alternating between running and walking, and it's become a popular way to train for long-distance races. It's particularly timely, as we appear to be in the middle of a second running boom, the first having taken off in the 1970s and 80s. You can see it in the popularity of parkrun, the rise in mass participation events, and the seemingly endless market for running shoes, watches and other gear. But despite all this enthusiasm, the idea of running can still be off-putting for many people. Some believe that unless they can run continuously at a certain pace or distance, they aren't a 'real runner', especially when they find themselves comparing their progress with others. That's where Jeffing comes in. This walk-run technique allows people to keep moving forward at their own pace. It balances effort and recovery to make endurance running more accessible to a wider range of people and abilities. But where did Jeffing come from? The concept was invented by American Olympian and coach Jeff Galloway in the 1970s. It's a strategic way of combining walking and running, sometimes with jogging too. Galloway describes it as a revolutionary approach that reduces fatigue, prevents injuries and makes running more enjoyable. 'By alternating between running and walking, runners can go farther, recover faster, and feel stronger during and after their workouts,' he says. In this sense, Jeffing shares some similarities with 'fartlek', which is Swedish for 'speed play'. Fartlek is a training method that was developed in 1930s Sweden by cross-country runners looking to improve their performance. It also involves alternating bursts of fast and slow running. Research shows that there were significant improvements in cardiovascular and speed endurance in just 12 weeks of fartlek training. The difference is that Jeffing operates at a lower intensity, and the walking breaks allow the body to recover more fully. What are the benefits of Jeffing? One of the biggest advantages of Jeffing is that it can help you go further. Because the body's energy stores aren't being depleted all at once, many runners find they can cover longer distances than they may have managed with continuous running. Studies show that this may have more benefits than shorter and more intense exercise. It also lowers the risk of injury because the reduced intensity puts less stress on joints and muscles. This makes Jeffing a popular option for people returning from injury or illness, or anyone keen to stay injury-free while training. Recovery tends to be quicker, too. Since the body is under less strain, runners often report feeling less fatigued afterwards. This may make it easier to stick to a training plan without burning out. Jeffing is especially welcoming for beginners. Galloway originally developed the method in 1974 while coaching a group of new runners. After ten weeks of following the walk-run approach, every one of them completed either a 5k or 10k race. The technique is still used by runners of all abilities, including those tackling full marathons. Jeffing also helps shift the focus away from pace and distance and onto how your own body feels. Galloway's advice in the early years included the 'huff and puff' rule: if you can hear yourself breathing hard, take more frequent walk breaks. On the other hand, for people who prefer structure, the method can be done with a stopwatch. A run can be chopped up into manageable segments, such as 30 seconds running and 30 seconds walking, as Galloway explains: 'By going to a 30 second run / 30 second walk … they run faster without any extra effort because they are only walking for 30 seconds. If that feels good, use it for a while then start creeping up the amount of running while keeping the walking at 30 seconds. After several weeks, you may settle in on something like 45 seconds run/30 seconds walk, or you may just run faster during your 30 seconds of running.' Is Jeffing for you? Although popular, this approach to running won't appeal to everyone. Some runners may feel that breaking up a continuous run with walk breaks interrupts their rhythm or makes them feel like they're not really running. But from my perspective as a runner and athletics coach, anything that helps more people participate in exercise should be welcomed. Many marathon runners will be using Jeffing as a way to prepare for their next event. They may use the technique in a structured way or just walk instinctively when they need to, to help them reach the finish line. So whether you increase the running time or just stick with short bursts, Jeffing may let you run in a way that suits your body – and that's what really counts. DM
