Jeff Galloway's Blog

What is the funniest running story that's happened to you?

I gave a clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia a few years ago covering a wide range of running issues.  As I went out for a run, the next speaker took the runners to the gym and demonstrated 20+ weight exercises that he felt were important for runners.  The speaker didn't see me re-enter the room as he took his first question: "Jeff Galloway said that we only needed to do two strength exercises for running, and you have shown us at least 20 exercises - who is right?"  The muscled guy glared at the questioner and said "Quite honestly, I don't want to look like Jeff Galloway." 

On The Road With Jeff - April 23-May 6, 2008

April 23-May 6th Charlotte, San Jose, Carmel, Monterey, Cincinnati, Raleigh, NYC, Mahwah

Charlotte NC—John Lineberger conducts a comprehensive, year-round program, and one of our largest. I met several folks who travel more than 45 minutes each way to run with the friendly group. They confided that this is the only way they would do the longer long runs. Now, they simply love the members of their training group.

San Jose CA—Jenny Lockwood leads our growing group in this very runable city. We had an energizing running school and a “meet and greet” in Urban Sports, our running store partner. Thanks go to Lance, the owner. This is another socially fun group with a running problem.

Carmel CA—This is a quaint and very scenic coastal town that is unique. Barbara and I stayed at Sunset House, a “homey” B&B type place with fireplace. A few minutes of downhill jogging brought me to one of my favorite beaches in the world. If you're interested in staying at one of these cozy properties contact Bobby Richards (bobbyrichards6@gmail.com) and feel free to mention my name.

There's a wonderful scenic path just above the beach that winds for miles. On Friday morning I teamed up with Rich Pepe, owner of Little Napoli (Dolores St at 7th). We took a walk/jog to the beach, did some cadence drills, and then enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Little Napoli, as I talked about staying injury free for life. Pepe promotes a number of fitness activities and serves delicious food.

Monterey CA—For most of Saturday I gave clinics to help runners deal with the many hills of the Big Sur International Marathon. I love this event—the committee is composed of dedicated people who work together to produce a masterpiece marathon experience. Many runners have reported setting personal records on this course because there is more downhill than uphill. My advice is to relax and enjoy the wonderful scenery and good people.

Big Sur Marathon—The weather is usually ideal or almost ideal for the 10 years I've been coming to Big Sur, and April 27th was no exception. One of my roles during the weekend is to be part of the “Bob and Jeff show” with pacing tips and announcements before the start. A few minutes before the gun fired, Bob asked me, on air, what I planned to do during the race. I explained that Barbara and I were shooting for a time around 5 hours, using a run-walk-run strategy of (run a minute/walk a minute). Bob invited anyone to join us as I climbed down from the platform, and waited with Barbara to start the race.

At the first minute I did a 5 second countdown so that our runners could get over to the side of the road to walk. I looked behind and saw about 60 folks with us. For the next few miles we picked up a few more each mile and held steady through about 19 miles where some fell off. But as we swept through the next 6 miles we picked up another dozen or so who were losing steam but were able to run one minute at a time with us.

I've heard from many in the group who ran their best time that day, or who were not prepared for the event, and had a wonderful experience by using 1-1. I came in after the 5:05 mark. Barbara ran off and left me, finishing about a minute ahead. The next morning I was in heaven, running down Carmel beach.

Cincinnati April 30—Our very social Galloway group in this city, led by Suzelle Snowden, has two sponsor stores. I gave a clinic at 5:30pm at Meters & Miles, and a 7pm session at Fleet Feet in Blue Ash. The second clinic had a very large turnout with lots of new folks aiming at a Fall half or full marathon. There were also requests for last minute tips for the Flying Pig Marathon, on May 4th. Cincinnati has experienced an increased growth in running due to this event—which is fun.

Raleigh May 2 and 3—My noon clinic was held at the new campus of Rex Healthcare. On the wall of the auditorium was a picture of Rex Hospital, where I was born. I spent many happy times during my youth in Raleigh. We had a successful “Mizuno meet and greet” at the Raleigh Running Outfitters on 6 Forks road.

Due to the great leadership of Ron Wahula, our Raleigh program has the largest Galloway enrollment. Ron has a series of great folks helping with marketing, social functions, etc. They have fun and have helped thousands to change their lives in a positive way while bonding with new friends every year.

Monday in NYC—our kickoff in the big Apple was at the Westside YMCA. We had the largest group of new runners that I've seen on any of my NYC trips. That program has unlimited opportunities to grow.

Tuesday in Mahwah—my good friend Ed Nekel allowed me to stay at his house. I had two great runs on the Saddle River trail system in Paramus NJ. The Mahwah group is small but growing and full of energetic folks. I conducted a clinic and did a demo run that featured the cadence drills and acceleration-gliders.

This weekend I will be in Conway AR and Springfield MO. There's still space available for my running school in Conway, on Saturday May 10th (contact Carol at ccmiller@mindspring.com).

We're starting a new program in Springfield MO which will feature a new hometown event: the BassPro Marathon on November 2nd. I will be there and I hope that many of you can join me.

Enjoy your runs---Jeff

April is “marathon decision month”

Most of the folks that I work with to train for marathons, make their choice in April. Why so early? The major marathons are so popular that they fill up quickly if you don't sign up as soon as you can. It is also true that most of those who enter Marathons in the Fall are currently doing very little running and know that they need to rev it up. Each day this month, on the average, I am in front of an audience of runners who fire constant questions about how to avoid “the wall”, staying injury free, estimating potential improvement, and running faster this year. I always recommend that the first goal be to finish in the upright position. 

My greatest satisfaction is the evolution of a series of simple training components that give the individual almost complete control over how he or she will feel at the end of long runs and on the big day. You don't have to puke or hit the couch or bed after long runs if you follow a few easy steps. Last year I put out a revised version of the training manual for my groups to reflect the updated information: GALLOWAY TRAINING PROGRAMS.

The popular marathons for the fall and winter are Portland OR, Marine Corps Marathon (online registration opens April 30), Chicago (almost full), NYC (lottery now open), Breast Cancer Marathon but there are many, many more to chose from!  A great resource for choice is www.marathonguide.com. Be sure to read the reviews.

This past week I had a delightful spring fun run out of my Phidippides Store in Sandy Springs GA, and then headed for Florida:

* Sarasota: A new Fleet Feet store in this city will host our Galloway Training Program. We had a great turnout for the first kickoff. Pat Jones is the director.

* Daytona: We had an overwhelming turnout for the kickoff on Saturday. The members and the group leaders seem to always have a good time together.

* Lakeland: The fun run around Lake Hollingsworth was a real treat. What a beautiful and clean city. Our running store partner, Fit Niche, does a great job in fitting and advising runners - in a beautiful new location. This group is growing significantly, due to the friendly leadership of our director Brendan.

* Tampa: We continue to have great leadership with co-directors Linda and Iris. Our running store partner, The Running Center has been a good resource. It was great to see so many members that have been with us for years, welcoming the new members. 

For more info on these and other Galloway Training Programs, go here.

Mizuno has been a great resource. Their representatives provide knowledgeable information and some special discounts for our members.

Sidelights: Between clinics on Friday I went for a run and interrupted the mating of two black snakes. One was crossing the road toward the mate when I approached, and it retreated. I don't believe, however, that this was a serious interruption in the expansion of the snake population.

In Lakeland, Florida, cars stop for swans crossing the road. I witnessed one such crossing that took a very long time.

The rest of April:
* Charlotte NC - On April 23rd, an evening “meet and greet” at the Dowd YMCA on Wednesday, 7:30pm.
* San Jose CA - On April 24th, a running school from 12:30-5:30 pm, then a meet and greet (email ccmiller@mindspring.com for more info)
* Carmel CA - On April 25th, a Friday morning session of gentle running, eating, italian recipes, with myself and Pepe
* Monterey CA - Saturday, April 26th clinics at the Big Sur Marathon expo with book signing
* Big Sur Marathon—Sunday morning along the coast. I've not found a more beautiful marathon course!
* Cincinnati:  On April 30th I’ll be giving out last minute instructions for The Flying Pig Marathon.

Enjoy your runs---Jeff

On The Road With Jeff- April 15, 2008

Thought for the week:
There are very few activities in life that can significantly improve the quality of a person’s life. When done correctly, running and other endurance exercises can help you energize your life--every day.

Catch the energy of Springtime:
Been a bit lazy this Winter? That's OK, most runners have had some slack weeks. If you'll ease back into running with 10-30 seconds of running followed by 30-50 seconds of walking, from the beginning, your body will adapt to the running motion without getting overwhelmed. With the right run-walk-run ratio, running doesn't have to hurt. There's a “re-starting program” in my free newsletter which will appear in a few days. If you aren't signed up for the free newsletter, visit www.JeffGalloway.com.

Texas:
I like visiting Texas, and I like the people of Texas...for the most part. A few days ago I had a great series of Galloway Training kickoffs, with lots of new runners, in College Station, Waco, Temple, Houston and Austin. There's no better place to run than Town Lake in Austin, on a beautiful Spring morning. Because of the excitement about the new Rock N Roll event in San Antonio this October, it is one of our featured races in the Galloway Training Program schedules.

Waco incident—blast from the past:
It was a thrill to run on the track in Waco where Michael Johnson trained and raced. The distance runners on the Baylor track team were nice enough to slow down so that I could take a warmup loop with them. During the run, one of the local rednecks pulled ahead of us in his pickup, on a road full of gravel, and “scratched off” sending rocks in our direction. I don't know why this personality type enjoys harassing runners, but I've had numerous incidents in various areas of the country over the years. Unfortunately, one of the young runners ran up and confronted the driver who jumped out of the truck carrying a big pipe wrench. Needless to say, the pace for the rest of the run was a good bit quicker, and we survived by being quicker on our feet.

Running is alive and well in DC and Baltimore:
Karen and Bobby Levin hosted me at their Fleet Feet store in Baltimore on Saturday, April 12. We had a great turnout for the kickoff of the Fall season. Some of the veterans in this program became injured during the past year, because they did not follow the run-walk-run guidelines on long runs, which they had been told to use. You can't take too many walk breaks on long runs.

On Sunday we had one of the largest turnouts for the DC Galloway program kickoff—including a new program in Northern Virginia. My 5 hour Running School was so much fun that we stayed around talking and I had to rush to make my plane back to Atlanta.

This week:
Please join me, or tell your friends about my free clinics: St. Petersburg FL (Fri, 4-18), Sarasota (Sat morn 4-19), Daytona Beach (Sat aft 4-19), Lakeland (Sun morning run and 1pm on 4-20), and Tampa (Sun 6pm, 4-20). For more information, contact the local director on the "Training Group" page. You can also view my schedule on the "Where's Jeff” page.

My next two marathons:
April 25-27—Big Sur International Marathon. On Friday I'll be one of the hosts and presenters in a wonderful weekend at the Big Sur International Marathon expo, and will run the race with my wife Barbara. We will be doing 1-1s, enjoying the scenery. I've not found any marathon more beautiful than Big Sur. This is a well-run event with fun weekend activities.

May 17th—Ogden Marathon. I believe that this course could be one of the fastest, anywhere. There is a downhill boost for the second half unlike any that I've experienced. Barbara and I will be pacing one another again. If you are in the area, please stop by my clinics which are hosted by the Marathon committee.