Jeff Galloway half marathon training programs
Read Jeff Galloway's official bio to learn more about him.
Overview
The primary goal of the Jeff Galloway training programs is to prepare you for a half marathon while avoiding injury. Here are the keys to the Galloway training method:
- Take walk breaks during your long runs. This allows you to maintain a consistent energy level.
- Focus on your endurance, not your speed, during your long runs. This means that you should run your long runs at a slower pace than you could at your maximum effort.
- Reduce your pace when you encounter higher temperatures, humidity, hills, etc.
There are two Jeff Galloway half marathon training programs:
(All Galloway training programs copyright 2012 JFG, Inc.)
Both training programs last 4 months so register for a half marathon race where you have 4 months of lead time.
Finally, if you want more info on these training methods than we’ve got on these pages, buy Jeff Galloway's half marathon training book
You can also visit the official Jeff Galloway website for training tips and other helpful advice.
Walk breaks
Galloway is probably the most well-known advocate of taking walk breaks during a half marathon. While it may seem impossible that you can run faster while taking walk breaks during a long run, trust us you can.
The rationale behind walk breaks is simple: people who do not take walk breaks have a harder time maintaining a strong pace at the end of their runs because fatigue catches up with them. Conversely, runners who take walk breaks have greater energy levels as the race progresses, and can end their races on a better finishing kick. Honestly, if you want to dominate your training and your half marathon race – take walk breaks. They work!
To incorporate Galloway’s walk breaks into your training routine, set the interval timer on your training watch according to the table below. The first timer should be set to the amount of time shown in the “Run interval” column; the second timer should be set to the amount of time shown in the “Walk interval” column. Make sure you set your timer to repeat the sequence after it runs through both the Run interval and Walk interval.
Here is a demonstration of how to use the interval timer on a Timex Ironman watch to set up walk breaks:
If you have further questions about walk breaks, visit the official Jeff Galloway website or buy the Jeff Galloway half marathon training book
Run-walk ratio for walk breaks in Jeff Galloway half marathon training
| Desired pace | Run interval | Walk interval |
|---|---|---|
| 8 min/mile | 4 minutes | 35 seconds |
| 9 min/mile | 4 minutes | 1 minute |
| 10 min/mile | 3 minutes | 1 minute |
| 11 min/mile | 2 minutes, 30 seconds | 1 minute |
| 12 min/mile | 2 minutes | 1 minute |
| 13 min/mile | 1 minute | 1 minute |
| 14 min/mile | 30 seconds | 30 seconds |
| 15 min/mile | 30 seconds | 45 seconds |
| 16 min/mile | 30 seconds | 1 minute |
Magic Miles
Jeff Galloway’s Magic Mile is a formula that predicts the pace (in min/mile) at which you can run a half marathon based on the time you post in a one mile time trial. Simply run one mile at a pace that challenges you. Multiply your mile time by 1.2 to get your minutes/mile pace over a half marathon distance.
For example, if you run your mile time trial in 8 minutes, Galloway’s magic mile formula predicts your half marathon pace to be (8 min/mile * 1.2) = 9.6 minutes, or 9 minutes and 36 seconds per mile. Round up and use the 10 minute/mile training pace.
Use the calculator below to convert your mile time into your Magic Mile time.
Enter your mile time into the form below
Result:
