Marathon: Train with a Running Legend for the Accomplishment of a Lifetime - Softcover

Galloway, Jeff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1964891000 ISBN 13: 9781964891002

Publisher: Shelter Publications, 2025

Synopsis

Get the everyperson’s guide to running, by “America’s coach” Jeff Galloway, and experience the unforgettable lifetime accomplishment of running a marathon.

If you haven’t already begun training for a marathon, you’ve probably thought about doing so. The message from former Olympic athlete and record-setting distance runner Jeff Galloway is simple: “You can do it!” Jeff coached runners for more than 50 years and served as the official training consultant for the runDisney series of races. With the new edition of Marathon, his proven programs guide you every step of the way, showing you how to train for—and finish—a marathon.

Jeff’s revolutionary run walk run® method of training has enabled hundreds of thousands of people to complete marathons, and you can be among them. This innovative approach opens marathon running to everyone, including those who may be out of shape, overweight, or past their athletic prime. Discover how to set up a personal training program, stay motivated, avoid injuries, burn fat, and more. You won’t have to compromise your career or family life to be successful. This new edition includes updated training schedules with recovery components, and most training weeks require only 3 x 30 minutes of running or walking. You’ll also appreciate the latest information on nutrition, mental training, and avoiding injuries and exhaustion.

Jeff’s motivation techniques have helped countless marathoners achieve their goals. This book shows you how to keep the fun in your run and stay away from aches and pains. With such guidance, almost anyone can achieve the lifetime goal of finishing a marathon.

Benefit from coverage of topics like these:

• Training and inspiration
• Food and fat-burning
• Dealing with injuries and getting older

About this title

About the Author

Jeff Galloway was one of the pioneering American distance runners who helped spark the running boom of the 1970s, transforming the sport from a niche pursuit into a mainstream fitness movement. A former Olympian, All-American, American record holder, and winner of both the first Atlanta Marathon and the first Peachtree Road Race, he brought elite credentials to every stage of his career. Jeff also developed a groundbreaking training philosophy that emphasized smart mileage, strategic rest, and sustainable marathon preparation. His decades of racing, coaching, and innovation made him one of the most trusted voices in marathon training.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

4. Running Form

Marathon form is most efficient when you don’t feel as if you are making any noticeable effort.

If it ain’t broke...

Running form is most efficient when you’re cruising along, almost on automatic. Over several years, your running form becomes more efficient—even if you still feel clunky. In fact, when runners change their form in an attempt to run better, they have often been forced to do so because they have been injured or excessively fatigued due to bad form. Even so, it’s almost always better to go with the natural flow of your legs and body—even if you don’t look like a star. In other words, if nothing seems to be wrong with your form, don’t try to fix it. But if you’re experiencing some of the form-related problems noted at the end of this chapter, I have a prescription for moving more easily.

Distance running does not require strength. Instead of overcoming gravity, we’re trying to minimize its effect by staying low to the ground and reducing extraneous body motion. By going slowly in the beginning, it’s easy to get moving, and, once in motion, the body wants to stay in motion. I use three components to monitor and fine-tune running form: posture, bounce, and over-stride.

Posture

Don’t try to be a Marine at attention. The best posture for running, walking, or cruising is just good posture, with all elements relaxed and balanced as the foot comes underneath. A forward lean forces you to shorten your stride and creates extra tension on the lower back and neck. A backward lean is unusual but will also produce a shorter stride, loss of power from the running stride, and possible tension in the lower back.

Some will argue that a forward lean will help you run faster, but I’ve found this to help only for a hundred meters or so. It forces you to work harder and therefore spend resources that are then not available later in the run, and you lose more time than you gained during the short burst. The only exception I’ve found to this rule is when running on a gradual, downhill grade. A slight forward lean can help you run faster, and the boost from downhill gravity will offset the decrease in stride length. A forward lean is often the cause of lower back pain or neck pain.

Like a puppet on a string

To correct forward lean, create a mental image (during the form drill) of yourself suspended from the very top of your head by a giant string as if you were a puppet. The effect is to lift you upright—head in line with shoulders and hips and everything lined up with each foot as it assumes the body’s weight. The image also helps you to stay light on your feet.

The first effect of being a good puppet is to have your body line up without any tension—you’re in balance. Walk around with the image of the puppet on the string until you feel relaxed in this upright position. Then start running slowly. On your days for form work, you may then accelerate for between 50 and 150 meters, running as a lightly balanced puppet. Not only does the posture correct itself, but also your chest is forward, as are your hips, allowing for a quick touch-off with the feet. You may have to make little adjustments, but when you are aligned in a relaxed mode, running will be easier and you’ll feel less effort in the legs....

Edition details

• Publisher: Shelter Publications
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1964891000
• ISBN 13: 9781964891002
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 256