Jeff Galloway's Blog

The # 1 Running Priority

The Gift Of Running

A few days ago, while running on the wonderful forest trails of NW Florida with my beach retreat participants, I realized that everyone was feeling good, sharing positive thoughts and stories.  Only fifteen minutes earlier, the conversation not as upbeat.  The attitude boost and vitality increase from running can enhance our life—on every run.  What a gift!

Studies show that runners have about the highest levels of positive attitude factors, and the lowest readings on the depressive scale.  Running changes us for the better in many ways.  The best change to me is how you can feel empowered during and after a run, and during a training program.

Even during the bad runs of my first running season, almost 50 years ago, I felt better at the end.  But the primary running mission during my first 20 years of running was competition, and I experienced a continuous roller coaster of frustrating experiences—up after one race, and down after the next 3-5.  Just when I decided that I wasn’t going to improve and should quit, the very next run gave me an indescribable glow that I have not experienced in any other area of life. 

Every week I try to help competitive runners understand the big picture.  Even if their only running mission is a faster time in a race, runners tend to be more successful when they can back off the pace, every other run.  These restorative, transcendental aerobic experiences help the body repair as they inject a dose of optimism.  When I stopped doing regular speedwork I was amazed to find that I was just as invigorated after a slow run as from a fast one. Today, I enjoy every run, 6-7 days a week.   

The easy runs allow us to plan the week, solve problems while imparting a uniquely positive approach to the day.  So as you set your goals for the New Year, be sure to include time on each run to enjoy the endorphins.

Jeff Galloway
US Olympian
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Personal Empowerment

Runners tend to be good, supportive, caring people.  They tend to have a spark in their personality that is subtle and "different in a good way".  Studies have shown that runners score higher on the positive attitude factors on personality profiles than those in other sports or hobbies.  Other studies have been reported to me showing that as former non-runners got into running and continued, the attitude scores became more positive.  What is happening here?

This past week I was in Appleton, WI, Detroit, and Flint MI, running with several delightful groups. One fellow I ran with in the Pacesetters club in Appleton said that the run with the group left him with the very best attitude boost that he received all week.  A woman noted, during a run with in the Crim 10 mile training program in Flint MI, that the good feelings from the weekly group run lasted until the next run.  Just being around the upbeat attitude of the Running Fit store in Detroit motivated a runner to do more runs per week. 

Companies are finding that fitness events produce build team spirit.  Several members of a Chrysler relay team for the Detroit Marathon mentioned that this improved company morale better than any other corporate activity they had experienced, over many months. The Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run Walk that I direct in Atlanta has a free training program that builds fitness and teamwork:  "Training for this event has everyone in the company talking fitness and energized--for months". 

The reason I conducted my first Running Retreat in 1975 was to provide information, and a great place to run.  This annual gathering has become so much fun that almost everyone who comes once, wants to return for the boost to the spirit, that can last in some cases until the next retreat.

A run by yourself makes you feel good.  Sharing the feelings in a group run enhances the positive boost.  But I've found nothing more empowering than helping people get into an activity like running that changes their lives for the better.

Jeff Galloway
US Olympian
www.JeffGalloway.com

*Treat someone (even yourself) to a running retreat
*Reading a book can get non-runners hooked to a good thing

Why a Jeff Galloway Blog?

Fellow Exercisers,

In the late '70's I was asked by a growing number of people to write a book about running.  But, I was busy with my clinics, retreats and training programs, and on the road 50% of the time.  Besides, there were many books on running and the only one that was selling well was Jim Fixx's THE COMPLETE BOOK OF RUNNING.   

Over the next 4 years, my training programs expanded across the US and I developed a unique series of coaching elements that helped people avoid injury.  So in 1983 I took on the mission of putting the Galloway principles onto the pages of GALLOWAY'S BOOK ON RUNNING.  Ironically, it appeared on the bookshelves the same month that my friend Jim Fixx died, and became the current best-seller in the running category over the next year. 

I've been asked to write a blog for several years, but I'm traveling 70% of the time to clinics, training programs, retreats and running schools.  I will only start a writing project, these days, if it enhances my life's work: to help people improve the quality of their lives though fitness.

Interestingly, my travels connect me with unpublished stories of inspiring runners and walkers who've turned their lives around and /or are helping others do the same.   Each day I average over 100 email questions, and training reports which help me fine-tune my advice, reduce the chance of injury, and inject more fun into the training. 

Energizing contact with runners and walkers connects me to the laughter, the stories, the group bonding that I felt as a fat 13-year-old taking my first running steps with the cross country team at Westminster High, enjoyed during college with my Wesleyan teammates Amby Burfoot and Bill Rodgers and treasured during the tough training for the '72 Olympics with teammates Steve Prefontaine and Frank Shorter.       

This blog will relay the stories, introduce you to interesting people, explain how to combine proven training tips and methods to eliminate aches and pains, while injecting some humor and inspiration.  I will try to keep you ahead of the trends in nutrition, training, shoes, motivation, etc. with direct advice.  There will be links to resources which I've found to be helpful in the following areas: Getting Started, Women's Issues, Walking, Marathon Training, Half Marathon training, Fit Kids, Getting faster, Injury Prevention, Motivation, and my favorite: Running Until You're 100.

Next year I'll celebrate my 50th year of running.  Over this period I've found that almost each run bestows an attitude enhancement and vitality boost that is not produced by any other activity in life.  Dozens of people every week tell me that their running journey has empowered them to change their lives in many positive ways.  Walkers tell me similar stories.

I want to help you keep moving until you're 100--no guarantees after that!

Jeff Galloway
US Olympian
www.jeffgalloway.com
Coach to over 200,000