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| Jeff Galloway is a renowned runner, coach, author and motivational speaker. Jeff represented the United States in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany in the 10,000 meters and was the alternate in the marathon. In 1973 Jeff broke the U.S. Record for 10 miles in 47:49. He won the inaugural Peachtree Road Race in 1970 and Honolulu Marathon in 1974 and has completed over 150 marathons. He was an All-American in track and cross country at Wesleyan University (CT) where his teammates included Bill Rodgers and Amby Burfoot. In high school at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia Jeff was state 2-mile champion in 9:48. While in graduate school at Florida State he was a founding member of the Florida Track Club. His personal best times include: mile – 4:12; 2-mile – 8:38; 5,000m – 13:44; 6-mile – 27:21; 10,000m – 28:29 ; 10-mile - 47:49 and marathon - 2:16:35. He is the author of over a dozen books on fitness and running with ‘Galloway’s Book on Running’ having sold over 600,000 copies. Jeff speaks to over 200 groups each year, is official training coach of the Athens, Greece Marathon and Run Disney Team Official Training Consultant. He has coached over two hundred thousand runners primarily through his marathon training groups. Jeff has introduced tens of thousands of people to the joy of running through the run-walk-run method. He conducts several vacation fitness camps each year at scenic locations. In 1973 Jeff founded Phidippides running stores and owns the two remaining stores. He resides with his wife, Barbara, of nearly 35 years in Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact Jeff, purchase his books and inquire about his fitness camps and coaching groups at www.jeffgalloway.com. Jeff was kind enough to spend two and a half hours on the telephone in December, 2010. |
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| GCR: | This fall you again ran in the Athens Marathon where you serve as the official training coach. How special is it to be involved in this annual event which covers the route from Marathon to Athens, Greece especially since it is 2,500 years since the first marathon in ancient Greece? |
| JG | It was very special. It has been my privilege to go over as the Apostolos tour coach for the past 16 years. The first year was my first trip to Greece and I was so excited like when people go on a pilgrimage, whether it is a religious pilgrimage or another type that goes back to one’s roots of what they do. There is no place like Greece to discover that and to connect with all of the positives that we experience in running that I am totally convinced were experienced by the ancient messengers of which Phidippides was one. We actually run on the fields where the ancient athletes competed. This year when my wife, Barbara, and I were running on a hillside we even discovered some writing which appeared to be from ancient times. |
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| GCR: | You were recently named the RunDisney Team Official Training Consultant. What is your role with the many Disney Endurance events? |
| JG | I’m one of the so-called ‘perfect’ runners as I have completed all of the Disney Marathons. This is the only race where I have run each edition for as many as the 17 years since it started back in 1994. My role now has shifted to helping others to use some of my training methods to discover this wonderful world of marathons and half marathons without pain. It has been recognized by the race organizers at Disney and by participants at my clinics that there must be ways to not have to struggle so much, to avoid injury or to run faster. Runners who have learned to use the right ‘run/walk’ ratio and who have done the proper long runs have made some major breakthroughs. I have incorporated this training into some free online training as part of the RunDisney experience and runners can also ask me questions at www.jeffgalloway.com. Until someone formulates where their problem areas are, they can’t figure out how to make positive strides in performance. In running it is about conservation of resources. So, hopefully runners will take advantage of my guidance to increase their likelihood of a pleasant race experience. |
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| GCR: | Thousands of runners were introduced to the joy of running through the walk/run method which you have advocated for decades. With the declining fitness levels among so much of our population, do you see this as a major way to reverse this trend while also giving people a sense of accomplishment? |
| JG | There is no doubt that marathon and half marathon running are one of the most positive aspects of the turnaround in our obesity epidemic. I regularly hear from people who have lost 20, 30, 50 or even over 100 pounds and who have kept it off because they run. The message is that it doesn’t have to hurt to run and that when you run you get the best dose of beta-endorphins that make you feel so good that you want to continue. It is about framing your experience, setting up a do-able goal and not overdoing it in the training. The run-walk-run method has been the most popular way for people to not only get into it, but surprisingly, to run faster with the walk breaks. What we have discovered is that when people who haven’t used the run-walk-run method insert the walking breaks, the average improvement is over 13 minutes. I have heard from over 150 runners who couldn’t break three hours who have now with the inserted walking breaks. The one great lesson is that if your legs aren’t beat up by the training there is resiliency in the race. And the sense of accomplishment gives people an inner glow which keeps them coming back for more marathon training and racing. |
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| GCR: | In the mid-1970s, you altered your running program to emphasize more rest and less weekly mileage, coupled with a long run every other week. When did you incorporate the walking breaks that have worked so successfully for amateurs and first-time marathon runners since then? |
| JG | In 1978 I had an epiphany one day while running. I had been having continued setbacks in my competitiveness and my race performances were getting slower. My business and family responsibilities were increasing and while running I realized that I may never again run as fast as I had in the past. I had been running for 20 years and for someone who was programmed for continual improvement it was a blow to the ego and the emotions. However, during that run I totally resuscitated my feelings and I decided that my new goal would be to run injury free and to be able to get out there daily without having to take days off. I realized I would need to take the walk breaks I had been advising others to take since 1973. I had seen so many positives when those who were injured inserted walking breaks that I started using them and I haven’t had an injury since then. I define an injury as something which makes the condition worse when running and, if you run with it, will render you unable to run for an extended period of time. I do experience soreness, but haven’t been injured since 1978. |
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| GCR: | Most runners know you as a coach, author and motivational speaker though you were a highly successful competitor in high school, college and post-collegiately. Let’s take a look at your primary years as a competitive runner. How did you get started running and did you have a sense of enjoyment relatively soon from distance running? |
| JG | My sense of enjoyment in the beginning was a ‘yes and no’ experience which is sort of the mixed bag that many high school runners encounter. My school had a requirement for boys that we had to be involved in a sport or take significant physical education classes. I was at a new school and had gotten to know many of the other lazy kids. I was fat, lazy and sedentary, much like many kids today. Most of these other lazy kids were going to run cross country. When I mentioned that it couldn’t be easy, they told me that the cross country coach was the most lenient coach in the school and that all we had to do was to tell the coach we were going to run on trails in the woods, run in a couple hundred yards and then just hide for a while, throw rocks in the creek and then run back a while later as if we had been running the entire time. I did that for two days and on the third day an older kid who was a good runner said, ‘Galloway, you’re coming with us today.’ I had my plan set that I would run to the edge of the woods, grab my hamstring and tell them I had an injury. But they started telling jokes and gossip about the teachers and I wanted to stay up to listen. I only stayed with them for a couple hundred yards the first day, but each day I did better, got to know the kids, had fun and the miles went by. I realized two things very shortly – first, after each run I felt better emotionally than I used to feel all week long – something about running made me feel good. Second, the group rapport and bonding pulled me along and allowed me to do things I didn’t think I could do. Yes, I had some tough runs and some that had me questioning whether I wanted to do it, but by the next day I was ready again due to the social aspect. |
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| GCR: | In high school, at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta Georgia, you raced 4:28 in the mile and 9:48 in the two mile, and were 2-mile state champion. What are your recollections of your senior year state championship races? |
| JG | That day was a major turning point in my running career. My first four years of running I did not qualify for the Georgia State Championships and it wasn’t even a very stellar state for track and field. Between my junior and senior years I decided to step things up, added second workouts, read Arthur Lydiard’s writings, improved greatly and qualified for the state meet. In the mile I had been beaten all year by Roy Hall and I desperately wanted to beat him. I pulled up about seven yards behind him with a lap to go but couldn’t close the gap and got beat again. I really felt defeated and wasn’t even going to run the 2-mile. But a few hours later when it was time to race I thought, ‘What the heck – I’m going to run a few miles anyway so I might as well enter the race and jog it.’ I did that for the first lap on a very hot day where it was about 95 degrees. After the first lap some of the runners who went out too fast started coming back to me and I made it a goal to see if I could catch up with the next one. I picked up the pace and caught one and then another. I wasn’t even counting laps and was just trying to catch the next person. With one lap to go I was way behind the first place runner, but I was in fourth place. I quickly passed the third place runner, took off and felt I could finish second if I gave it all I had. With half a lap to go I moved into second place. The leader was still 50 yards ahead of me but he was wobbling and slowing down dramatically. I said to myself, ‘I don’t know if I can catch him, but I’m going to give it everything I can.’ Right at the finish line I passed him to win the state championship. It gave me a boost for many months – the whole idea of not giving up. That has been a theme in my training and racing and is what I pull now from those I coach – the hidden strength of not giving up. |
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| GCR: | At Wesleyan University you earned All-American honors in track, clocking 4:12 in the mile, 9:06 in the two mile and 14:10 for three miles. Why did you choose Wesleyan and how was the atmosphere there for training? |
| JG | My senior year in high school when it was time to make my collegiate decision there were four guys from the year before me who went to Wesleyan. One, Sam Stivers, had been on the cross country team with me for four years. Sam got in touch with me and sent me information. Also, the school’s admissions director got in contact with me. The more I knew, the more I wished to go there. I’m glad I did as it made a huge difference in my development. Coach Elmer Swanson gave us freedom in training but we also had to take responsibility. Amby Burfoot was my roommate and did very high mileage while I did less than him. I also met Billy Mills who influenced me greatly. We made mistakes in training, learned from them and improved each year. When I was a senior, Amby was a junior and Bill Rodgers was a freshman. I worked in the geology department and helped Bill prepare for tests. None of the three of us had scholarships but enjoyed the freedom to run and train as we wanted to. |
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| GCR: | At the 1966 NCAA Cross Country College Division Championships you were an All-American with your 14th place finish in 20:26. Interestingly, Gary Tuttle, who would be your future U.S. teammate at the 1975 World Cross Country Championship, was fifth in 20:11. What do you remember from that tightly competitive race and did you know Tuttle at the time? |
| JG | Actually that is very interesting you mentioned this as I was looking over those results four or five months ago as someone had sent them to me. I didn’t know Gary Tuttle back then, but he is a good guy. He and I have done some running clinics together. There were a number of runners in that field who later made Olympic or international teams. At the cross country national meet runners are so stacked up that just a few seconds can mean losing many places. I made up most of my ground that day on other runners in the middle of that race and held my own toward the end. To stray from the subject a bit, later on I did learn how to run negative splits in cross country races and to pass tons of runners. At the 1971 USTFF at Penn State it was very cold – six degrees - and Ken Misner and I were staying warm in a shack as we thought we had about five minutes until the start. We heard the gun fire and we were at least 100 yards from the start. We ran out there and picked our way through the crowd and I ended up in sixth place out of over 400 runners. |
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| GCR: | Are there any other races which stand out as particularly memorable from your years at Wesleyan? |
| JG | In track I had my best year my junior year. At the IC4A meet in the 3-mile a runner stepped on the outside of my foot which was very similar to that scene in the movie about Steve Prefontaine where Pre ran with a cut on his foot and his shoe was soaked in blood. Whereas his occurred from an accident jumping into a pool and he raced the next day, mine occurred during the race. I still have a scar to this day. It was a major breakthrough because I knew I had been spiked, it hurt and when I glanced down I could see the blood. Usually I would have slowed down but I somehow decided to ignore it as best as I could, I passed runners, ran well and had a huge psychological breakthrough. When I ran my personal best 9:06 2-mile my senior year I ran an even pace and passed many people with a strong finish. |
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| GCR: | A story told by Amby Burfoot has you in October, 1966 proposing running 40 x 440 yards in 75 seconds with a 110 jog which you did barefoot on a grassy field. What was your thought process and goal and does anything stand out in your memory from that day? |
| JG | I didn’t do that particular workout with Amby, but did it myself. Young guys who are distance runners have some of the same macho traits as guys in other sports. We just display them in different ways. Bragging rights come with tough workouts though they often get us into trouble. I remember doing those 40 repeat 440s and I paid for those for weeks. Regarding running on soft surfaces, I ran a lot on grass in high school and college. I even got in trouble in high school as I created a ‘dog path’ on the inside of the track from the many barefoot laps I would run. |
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| GCR: | After graduating from Wesleyan you served in the Navy for a few years. How did you end up in the Navy, what was your running routine during this period and did the regimen of military life combine well with the discipline of training? |
| JG | I was thinking about running for an inter-service team after graduating from college as early my freshman year at Wesleyan. I went to the military championships at Van Cortland Park and talked to Spike Mirania, who was a Wesleyan graduate, and he said, ‘there is someone I’d like you to meet.’ And so he introduced me to Billy Mills, who was running for the Marines team. Instantly I liked Billy, his personality and demeanor. There was something else that impressed me and I didn’t realize until later what it was – it was total confidence, not bragging or anything like that, even though his times didn’t project him to be in the running to make the Olympic team. But as the months went by and he qualified for the trials and Olympic team, his story inspired me so that when I was a senior I looked into running for a service team but my times weren’t good enough. The reason was that so many people didn’t want to go to Vietnam that many top runners applied for the teams. They had the draft lottery with the 365 days of the year randomly selected and my birthday was selected at number three. I was definitely going to go to Vietnam. I decided to apply for the Navy as my dad had been in the Navy and he said it would be a good chance to travel. My first station was on a ship off the coast of Vietnam that was an oiler. I was there for most of 18 months servicing other ships with oil and supplies. I didn’t run much, gained weight, got out of shape but learned I really loved running. When we were in port and my fellow sailors would go ashore for various pursuits, the only thing I wanted to do was to run. In 1969 or so that seemed weird to most people but I didn’t care. It was a wonderful release to run after a long voyage at sea. I was fortunate that my second tour was on a minesweeper at Pearl Harbor which was supposed to go to sea to sweep mines from the harbor at Hanoi, but we never went to sea. I ended up running on shore in Hawaii and it was wonderful. That is when I started the concept of running to be as good as I could be and I didn’t know what that would be. My one goal that I formulated was to try to qualify for the Olympic Trials. |
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| GCR: | While in graduate school at Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida you raced for the Florida Track Club, as did Frank Shorter, Jack Bacheler and others who were domiciled a few hours south in Gainesville, Florida. Did you have many opportunities to train together in Florida and what were the benefits realized from high altitude training you did jointly in Vail, Colorado for two months prior to the 1972 Olympic trials? |
| JG | I looked into going to Florida or Florida State and looked at the graduate programs and running programs at both. The Florida Track Club was forming and I wished to be a part of that. Jack Bacheler made it clear that they were interested in runners whether we were in Gainesville, Tallahassee or another city. I chose Florida State mainly because of the running areas around campus and in the forests just outside of town. There are great trails in the Apalachicola National Forest and that is primarily why I went to FSU. For the first year of 1970-71 I trained with Ken Misner until then he graduated and dealt with his military issues. Ken and I did workouts together often with most being just the two of us. During the 1971-72 school year I trained mainly on my own. At the cross country national meet Frank Shorter told some of us he was looking into low cost housing in Vail, Colorado prior to the Olympic Trials. At that time I hadn’t qualified in the 10,000 meters or marathon. I had the goal of qualifying and to put my hat in the ring. Frank, Jack and I had a great two months of training and getting to know one another which was a treasured time for me. I qualified for both races and then all three of us made the Olympic team. |
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| GCR: | What was your typical training mileage in high school, college and beyond? |
| JG | In high school by my senior year my maximum mileage was 35 miles per week, though most weeks were 30 miles. In college I increased to 40-45 miles per week on average. When I went to train in Florida I was up to 80 miles per week. I had had a series of marathons where I hit ‘the wall’ so when I asked other runners why, they said my mileage wasn’t high enough. So I upped my mileage from 80 to 100 miles a week over a six month period and still hit the wall in my next marathon. So then I upped it to 120 per week for six months and finally up to 140 for six months leading up to the 1971 Pan American Games Trails marathon. After that race there was a party among the finishers and we were discussing and arguing about training. Well, I was proud to be the highest mileage runner in my corner of the room and discussion. One guy heard s talking about running and said, ‘I’ve never run a 100 mile week in my life,’ which was low for national class runners. I looked to see who it was and it was Kenny Moore who had finished second and had qualified for the Pan Am Games while I had finished eleventh. I went over and was giving Kenny the third degree about what he was doing since he wasn’t doing high mileage. It was obvious quickly what the big difference was – Kenny was running 30-milers every two or three weeks and my longest runs were 20 or 21 miles. No wonder I hit the wall and he didn’t. |
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| GCR: | So did you decrease your weekly mileage and increase your long run distance? |
| JG | I immediately increased my long run to 30 miles and it made a huge difference in my marathon performance. Generally I still kept my mileage at 140 miles per week. |
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| GCR: | You placed second at the 1972 Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters and made the U.S. Olympic team. Had making the Olympic team developed over the preceding years into your goal and how exciting was it to know you were an Olympian? |
| JG | When I qualified for the Marathon Trials I didn’t really think seriously about making the team as I was ranked about tenth in the marathon and didn’t even qualify for the 10,000 meters until after coming down from altitude training, improving my time by 90 seconds and qualifying about two weeks before the Trials. I was ranked about 12th in the 10,000 meters. I didn’t seem to have a chance of qualifying in the 10,000 meters, but planned to go for it in the marathon. It was just serendipitous that I qualified in the 10,000 meters, but it was a very hot day of about 95 degrees just like in my high school state 2-mile race. I ran in last place for the first mile with no illusions of making the team, but I did what I did in high school and just made it my goal to pass the next person. I did it one at a time and didn’t have a clue what place I was in until about four and a half miles when I looked ahead and only Frank Shorter and Jack Bacheler were in front of me. I passed Jack shortly after that, came in second and made the team which was a big surprise. It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life to this day to know I was an Olympian. |
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| GCR: | At the 1972 Olympic Trials marathon you finished fourth and some accounts are that you let your teammate Jack Bacheler finish third rather than try to beat him as you were already on the team in the 10,000 meters. How accurate is this story? |
| JG | What happened was that all of Jack’s training was focused on the 10,000 meters. Sadly, he seemed to over train a bit in Vail and his muscles weren’t as resilient. In the 10,000 meters he was still in third place entering the home stretch and Jon Anderson, the son of the mayor of Eugene, Oregon, where the race was held, was coming up on Jack. The crowd was cheering while Jack was wobbling. Jon passed Jack with about thirty yards to go, but Jack was weaving so badly that he listed to one side, bumped Jon as he passed him and an official disqualified Jack from the race. We were all devastated as if I had qualified in the marathon, my featured event, I would give up my slot in the 10,000 meters to Jack – but that was no longer possible as he wasn’t in the final results. The marathon was only a week later. I volunteered to pace Jack in the marathon, but there were two things going against him. First, his longest run was only 17 miles and secondly, Jack hadn’t raced many marathons and didn’t have a good pacing mechanism. We ran together and after a mile were around 100th place, by five miles were in 50th place and were clicking miles off. One of the things I am most proud of is our running at an even pace as by 15 miles we were only six seconds per mile slower than the pace at which we had set out. Jack was beginning to really feel it around 21 miles, but we were the third and fourth runners with Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore way ahead of us and out of sight. During the last five miles it was my job to keep Jack focused, cheer him on and look behind to make sure no one was gaining on us. We hung together and it was bizarre as I was at the peak of my running and Jack was struggling. I had to go back a couple of times and keep him fired up. The crowd at the finish thought this was going to be a horse race between us as there was only one Olympic team berth left and two guys were on the track. It was one of the most powerful moments for me as I was the only one in the stadium who knew what the outcome of the race was going to be. I ran around part of the track with Jack and then dropped back and let him finish ahead of me so he could be the final qualifier. It was a wonderful feeling to help a teammate qualify for the Olympics. |
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| GCR: | You represented the United States at the 1972 Olympics in Munich but didn’t qualify for the 10,000 meter final. Was this disappointing or were you pleased to have given it your best effort? |
| JG | I had over trained as I was too exuberant after the trials. I just worked super hard and I know now that I trained more than I should have. I also got a cold and the combination of the two left me where I didn’t have it in the race. It was frustrating to not be able to perform but the reality is that the three people in my heat who qualified for the final all broke the Olympic Record and I wasn’t ready to do so at that time. |
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| GCR: | When the U.S. trio of Frank Shorter, Kenny Moore and Jack Bacheler finished in first, fourth and ninth in the Olympic marathon how exciting was it for you as their teammate and did you wish you were out there competing? |
| JG | I wished I had been out there in the marathon and we had asked the powers that be with the U.S. Olympic Committee if Jack and I cold trade races which they didn’t allow. I was proud to have some small role in the development of our Olympic Marathon team in Florida, at Vail and at the Trials and it is something I treasure. |
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| GCR: | What are your thoughts on the American system of having to peak twice for the Olympic Trials and Olympics? |
| JG | In 1972 we had to run the two marathon races very close together and our combined finish in Munich was the highest that any country has ever had, so the results speak for themselves. I think you can cope with those issues well if you adjust your training. |
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| GCR: | The Munich Games were marred by the terrorist hostage taking and killings. Describe your memories of this tragedy and its affect on you, your teammates and others. |
| JG | It happened after my event, but I was still in the athletes’ village. I stayed in the village the entire time as I really love the whole experience of the Olympics and the village. Also, it was my first trip to Europe. Prior to the incident there was wonderful exuberance in the village and it put a damper on everything that permeated the experience. A dull edge and slight depression was there afterward and it wasn’t quite the same. There was a movement among some of the athletes to cancel the games as a tribute to the Israeli athletes and the U.S. track team had a discussion led by Coach Bill Bowerman. The meeting was similar to that portrayed in the Steve Prefontaine movie and the common sentiment was that we couldn’t end the Games or it lets the terrorists win. That was also the stance taken by most of the officials. |
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| GCR: | Who were your roommates in Munich and do you have any great memories of your time in Munich with some of the legendary United States distance runners? |
| JG | The portrayal in the Prefontaine movie was also very accurate as to the accommodations which were bare concrete walls with German army cots and bare-bones plumbing of commodes sitting on pipes. But we didn’t care because we were at the Olympics! There was one room in our suite that housed high jumpers Ron Jordan and Chris Dunn; one room had middle distance runners Rick Wohlhuter and Bob Wheeler. A middle room held Jack Bacheler, Leonard Hilton and me. I got to know the guys pretty well and we had many great experiences and lots of laughs. |
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| GCR: | After the Olympics, since you were in your late twenties and running wasn’t a professional sport, did you find yourself trying to figure out in which direction you were heading to make a living? |
| JG | Absolutely – I was a school teacher that year and had a commitment for that fall so when I came back from Munich I taught fourth grade. I had all intentions of making teaching my career. My dad had founded an innovative school in Atlanta, Georgia, but I sadly discovered that I didn’t like the classroom situation. At first it was devastating to me as I had spent a lot of time preparing to teach. After I dealt with that reality I started looking for other alternatives. |
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| GCR: | How did you make the move toward establishing the Phidippides Running Stores? |
| JG | There wasn’t a way to make a living as a runner since prize money and endorsements weren’t allowed, so I decided to start a running store. I got the idea from a friend, Geoff Hollister, whom I met while I was in the Navy before I went overseas. Geoff lived in Eugene, Oregon and was selling the Onitsuka Tigers shoes that later became Nike shoes. The company he was with was Blue Ribbon Sports, which later became Nike, and Geoff had opened the first Blue Ribbon Sports store. I helped him out a bit in Eugene and, as I was reflecting on that experience at the time I decided I wasn’t going to continue pursuing a teaching career, my next thought was to consider opening a store. I didn’t want to open an all sports store which would have been the smarter thing to do in 1973 as there weren’t many people running, but I decided I wanted a pure running store. So in December of 1973 we opened Phidippides and struggled as there wasn’t much of a market. But in the late 1970s we saw the first big running boom produce much greater interest in running shoes, we started to make a little profit and running has just continued to grow since then. |
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| GCR: | I remember there being word-of-mouth information about your Phidippides store as Olympic Trials marathon runner, Lee Fidler, brought striped shorts from your store to Boone, North Carolina when I was running for Appalachian State in the late 1970s and he would sell them at good prices to the distance runners. |
| JG | That is a good memory as those were the Dolphin shorts and we were one of the few dealers in the country who carried those shorts. They were originally a swimsuit company and used some of their striped swimsuit material to make running shorts for a few local track teams, we heard about it, ordered them and runners loved the shorts. |
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| GCR: | Your original Phidippides store expanded to a nationwide franchise network of 35 running stores, though only two Phidippides stores remain in the Atlanta area. There is obviously a need for running stores and there has been growth in recent years. What caused the shrinkage in Phidippides and what is your current involvement with the Atlanta area stores? |
| JG | What happened were that people wanted to open up stores, we set up training programs and accounting systems and granted many franchises. But quite a few of the franchisees ordered more than they should have when we were hit by two major recessions. Major companies also aggravated the situation by having excess merchandise that they unloaded directly to the public, taking sales away from the specialty stores and contributing to the stores going under. Additionally, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to franchisees who were my friends and I let them have merchandise without being paid back on occasion. After paying off the debt, which took over five years, I decided that I didn’t want to be in the franchise business. With the current stores I have great managers and don’t spend much time their except for running some of the ‘fun runs.’ |
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| GCR: | In 1973, you set an American ten-mile record of 47:49. Did you like the intermediate long distances of 15k, 10 miles and the half marathon? |
| JG | I had done some road races while I was in college in New England which was the only part of the country that had a healthy road racing circuit in the 1960s as it had for decades. I didn’t do much road racing after I started focusing on the 10,000 meters and the marathon. I mainly ran short distance races on the track and marathons. My ten-mile record was actually set on the track. |
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| GCR: | You raced strong at the 1973 AAU Championships, coming in third in the 10,000 meters and were a member of the U.S. National Track and Field team that travelled to Europe, Russia and Africa. Did any of the races stand out for the competitiveness, tactics or venue? |
| JG | I was not having a great year in 1973 leading up to the Championships and didn’t expect to make the team. I just hung in there, gutted it out, passed other runners in the last two miles and wound up third, actually second American, and unexpectedly qualified for the U.S. team to compete internationally. It was an amazing trip as we were together for about six or seven weeks. One vivid memory of a tough day of racing was when we raced the Russians in Minsk, a hard-core factory town. Residents of the city were given a day off from work and a ration of vodka if they attended the track meet, so we faced a crowd of 80,000 plus. Whenever the Russians did well there was screaming and shouting while when an American did well there was a bizarre silence. In my race I was up against two veterans, one of whom was World Ranked. My fellow American, Ted Castaneda, fell off the pace so the two Russians double-teamed me. They slowed down on the turns and when I tried to pass they would expand their lane coverage to push me to the outside and to make me run farther. So I settled in until the last lap and then tried to take off. But one guy got in front of me, put out his elbows and battled me to the point that I couldn’t pass. While this happened the other guy, who didn’t have as good of a kick, took off. When I finally got around I couldn’t catch the first Russian, the other one beat me and I ended up third. As an aside about Ted Castaneda, he was my son’s coach in college in Colorado. |
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| GCR: | At the 1975 World Cross Country Championships in Rabat., Morocco you finished in 70th place and your teammates included Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, Gary Tuttle and Jack Bacheler. Was this a tight-knit group and how amazingly competitive and difficult was this race that brought together the world’s best at all distances from 1,500 meters to the marathon in one race? |
| JG | It was a really interesting trip as I hadn’t been to an Islamic country. I did some workouts with my teammates and with runners from other countries. I remember working out with New Zealand’s Dick Quax a couple of times. We all stayed at the Rabat Hilton and there was great camaraderie. The competition was the most intense I have ever seen since there was such a range of speed from the 1,500 meter specialists up through the marathon runners. No matter what pace you were running you were with a group of runners who were better than you were. It was a consensus among our entire team that it was the toughest race any of us had ever done. The venue was around a horse track where they scooped out a hole and used a fire hose to make a mud pit that we had to run through on each lap. There were also hay bales that we had to jump over. I’m not even sure how many laps we ran as the hay bales and mud pit just kept coming! |
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| GCR: | You won Atlanta’s first Peachtree Road race 10k in 1970 which was one of the forerunners of U.S. road races. How did it get its start and how many runners were there for the inaugural race? |
| JG | At that time road racing was a tiny sport which wasn’t done much in the south. Tim Singleton, Dean of Men at Georgia State University, started the Peachtree Road race. He was infatuated with New England Road racing and wanted to bring some of that back to Atlanta so he got a series of races going in the Atlanta area. Also in 1969 a group of runners from the Atlanta Track Club had raced down in Columbus, Georgia at Fort Benning and were interested in starting a big race in Atlanta. Tim took on the mantle, rumors got out around the south about this race down Peachtree Street and 110 runners showed up. Today people are amazed that ‘only’ 110 runners were there, but at the time that was a large road race as very few had that many entrants. |
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| GCR: | When did you take over as Peachtree Race Director and what are your major accomplishments in those early years that saw a huge growth in entrants? |
| JG | I moved back to Atlanta in 1975 and my Phidippides store became the center of the running culture in Atlanta. Tim got a new job in Texas and had to move so he asked Bill Nees, Bob Brennan and I if we would keep the race going and we agreed to do so. We divided up the work and put on the race for three years. It grew from 1,200 to 12,000 runners, we made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot. Systems we set up which became part of the blueprint for larger road races in the future. |
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| GCR: | With your great success on the track, roads and in cross country, which was your favorite and why? |
| JG | When I was competitive I preferred cross country or road racing over the track, though it was a special experience to race on the track in Eugene, Oregon. |
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| GCR: | Where do you enjoy training currently and what racing distance is now your favorite? |
| JG | Today my preferred training venue is trails and my favorite racing distance is marathons. I run seven or eight marathons each year. Due to using the run-walk-run method I don’t get injured and my sense of satisfaction and accomplishment is as good as ever. My times are a lot slower but it doesn’t bother me! |
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| GCR: | Of the over 150 marathons you have raced are there some that jump out because of how you raced, the scenery, the crowds of for other reasons? |
| JG | Today I run most of my marathons with my wife, Barbara, of thirty-five years and it is one of the joys of our marriage to share this experience. An experience that I treasure is running with my father at the 1996 Boston Marathon in his last marathon when he was 75 years old – he knew it was his last marathon and we had never ran a marathon together prior to that one. We talked the entire way and he tried to take off on me at the end and afterward for years he told people that if I hadn’t run with him he would have run much faster! I never disagreed with him on that! It was just a joy to share that with my dad. |
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| GCR: | You share an experience with many runners in being ill-prepared for your first marathon. What would you like to relate from your marathon debut? |
| JG | I was a freshman at Wesleyan and came home for Christmas break. There were rumors among my running friends that they were going to have a marathon in Atlanta. I wasn’t that interested as my longest training run was 15 miles. But I was 18 years old and there was male ego and testosterone on the line! There was also a rumor that the winner would receive a big trophy and I had never won a big trophy, so I went to the start to take a look at the trophy. I looked around at the other contestants and there were only nine other runners and I thought I might be able to beat all of them. There was one experienced road racer, Ken Winn, who I couldn’t beat, but he wasn’t there. I waited until just before the start and he still hadn’t shown up, so I got out my money, I think it was three bucks to enter, and gave the race director my entry fee. As we received our race instructions a car came around the corner, the race director had us wait and it was Ken, the guy I knew I couldn’t beat. I tried to get my money back but the race director wouldn’t give it to me. He fired the gun and I decided to do a training run. The race route was ten and a half laps around Chastain Park, a very hilly golf course. After the first lap Ken was gone and I couldn’t see him so I decided to race for second place. After about 15 miles I was very tired as that had been as far as my longest training run. I stopped and told the race director I was quitting since only first place was awarded a trophy and second place didn’t get anything. He told me I was in first place and I argued with him that Ken was until he told me that Ken had dropped out two laps before then. So I took another look at the trophy and kept going. I got progressively in worse and worse shape. On the last two laps I took walk breaks but not the way I tell people to take them when I advise them now. I was taking them because I was ready to pass out. I made it through the finish and it was so tough that I couldn’t run very well for two weeks. I also had to cancel a hot date I had for that night and it was two years before I wanted to run another marathon. From that point on I wanted to find a better way to run marathons and I’m still on that pathway to make them easier, more fun and faster. |
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| GCR: | Every great runner has coaches that contribute to mental and physical development. What did your coaches do to contribute to your success? |
| JG | My high school coach, Paul Kashua, and college coach, Elmer Swanson, both specialized in shorter distances. The best things they both did were to allow me to listen to others for advice and to have flexibility in training. Also, neither coach pushed me or forced me to do too much. |
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| GCR: | Who were some of your favorite competitors and adversaries from your competitive running days? |
| JG | There were always a few adversaries I connected up with during races that helped develop me as a runner. Jack Bachelor and Frank Shorter are two of my teammates I learned from just by watching what they did to be more successful. The time I spent training with Ken Misner was very helpful. In my experience as I have seen what others have done I have thought, ‘why don’t I try that to improve my racing.’ We are a community of runners who learn from one another. |
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| GCR: | Let’s transition to your advice as a coach. First, what are the most important concepts for those who start running? |
| JG | First, if you don’t remember these tips or want additional advice, you can always go to www.jeffgalloway.com for free advice and there you can also sign up for my newsletter. An overriding concept is I have realized that the human body is designed to adapt to the running motion. If you start gradually, have breaks between the time you are running and increase the amount of running slowly rather than doing too much too soon, the body adjusts to running. What that means is slower is better and the placement of walking breaks right from the beginning is key. With some beginners I just have them run for five or ten seconds out of every minute and walk the rest so that their muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints can adapt. This helps reduce or eliminate aches and pains that so many beginners face when they do more initial than is ideal. Walk breaks are the single biggest factor in allowing beginners of any age to start a program that includes some running. This lets them enjoy the wonderful endorphins created during running that give s such a great feeling. One final recommendation is that beginners run every other day. |
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| GCR: | What quick tips can you suggest for someone who is running his first marathon, especially how to avoid hitting ‘the wall?’ |
| JG | I have developed suggested ratios of running to walking that are available for perusal on my website. For example, if someone is running at 10:00 pace per mile a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio of running to walking works best. In training for a marathon the key is to get your long run as close to the full 26 miles as possible. This is done by including very liberal walking breaks from the beginning. Another key is to run at a slow pace that is two minutes per mile slower than your anticipated race pace. I recommend that beginners run the first 18 miles of a marathon at their slow training pace and then pick it up if they are feeling good. To maintain what is gained on the long run, a runner only needs to do three runs during the week – two half hour runs and one that is an hour in length. The long run should be done every other week, replacing the hour run, until it increases to 17 miles. Then a long run should be done every three weeks. If your long run is at least 26 miles at a slow enough pace with walking breaks that you are recovered in two days, then it is the best method to avoid hitting the wall. Having worked with over 300,000 runners over the years and from getting feedback from a huge number of them I have found that the long run of 26 miles or more is the simplest method to avoid hitting the wall. When you can run 29 or 30 miles it also gives you a sense of confidence that you can’t get from any other training element. Pacing is also paramount in a marathon – at any distance if you can run negative splits you will feel stronger at the end and this is especially true in the marathon. |
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| GCR: | Getting faster in the marathon for an average person often means improving one’s 5k speed and taking walking breaks. What do you advise for integrating these two ideas into one’s training program? |
| JG | To get faster a runner has to add more training. Amazingly, most people can do as well on three days per week of training as compared to more and this also reduces the chances of injury. Regardless of how many days per week you train, you need to add stamina training and I recommend repeat miles where you run 30 seconds faster than race pace and walk five minutes in between. I also believe in inserting ‘race pace’ segments into one of the shorter runs each week. Finally, form drills such as cadence drills and acceleration-gliders help with efficiency and speed. The combination of these varied training elements help with lactic acid tolerance, endurance and form. Adding long runs of as long as 29 or 30 miles, which Kenny Moore taught me back in 1971, helps take one’s marathon performance to a higher level. |
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| GCR: | You are an advocate of using the ‘Magic Mile’ to predict performance. How does this work and what else must a runner be doing in terms of average weekly training mileage, long runs and other elements of training to make it a good predictor? |
| JG | It isn’t something that came to me in a vision – I just compiled data from over 30,000 people who ran a mile, 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon. A runner does a mile time trial and the calculator on my website projects marathon pace based on a runner’s mile time and if that runner is also doing enough miles, long runs and other training to be ready for that pace. |
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| GCR: | Long runs are an integral element of a successful marathon training program. What should a runner do if one is missed due to illness, injury or a schedule conflict? |
| JG | There are so many issues when one misses a long run that there can be variations, but generally if a long run is missed one week, they can be done two weeks apart even if they are over 17 miles by going even slower and taking even more walking breaks. The other option when a long run is missed is to just wait until the next long run is scheduled, walk the first part and then take more walking breaks when running. |
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| GCR: | Marathon training becomes different in many ways for more serious runners that are competing for a fast time at the edge of their ability rather than to complete the distance. What are some suggestions for the small group of faster runners to improve their race performances? |
| JG | It takes a lot more time to train to produce small improvements for those who are aiming for fast times. It becomes a lifestyle for them. They have to learn to love training. In my latest book, ‘Boston – How to Qualify,’ which has time goals, I have changed a few things from my other books with time goals. I have found that two-mile repetitions are more effective than mile repeats as the difficulty of the goal gets tougher. I have much feedback from sub-3:00 runners who have improved their marathon time in big chunks of three to six minutes by doing the two-mile repeats, lengthening their long runs to 29 or 30 miles and, surprisingly for some, inserting walk breaks. The most amazing thing I heard is of one runner who improved his marathon time from 2:33 to 2:29 and the only thing he did differently was inserting a 10-15 second walk break every mile during his 2:29 race. I have also heard back from several runners in the 2:40s who have improved three to five minutes by inserting short walking breaks during their marathons. |
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| GCR: | What do you make of the renewed interest in barefoot running and minimalist shoes? Is some barefoot running likely to strengthen the feet and prevent injuries? |
| JG | I got injuries from barefoot running and know others who have, but I feel some barefoot running is beneficial to develop better mechanics in running. Over the past few decades I have seen interest in minimalist shoes and barefoot running come and go five times. The trend is that something happens in the media to spark interest, many people try it and initially in short doses it feels good. Then they do more, get injured for several months and the fad goes away. For those that are competitive I feel there is an advantage when inserting barefoot running in small doses though you have to be careful about the surfaces as even grass has hidden glass and metal. On trails such as the soft trails in Florida with dirt, sand and pine straw runners can get away with minimalist shoes, but very few places are that well suited to running in minimalist shoes. The misconception many runners have is that shoes cause injuries – I don’t see where running shoes cause injuries, even when the wrong shoe is chosen. Running shoes are so well made orthopedically that many doctors are recommending them for walking as they have better support than most shoes that are available. |
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| GCR: | All over the country there are Galloway Marathon Training Groups with offerings including programs for ‘Getting Started’ and completing a half- or full-marathon. What are the advantages and disadvantages of group training? |
| JG | Statistics speak for themselves. For those who train by themselves for their first marathon there is a one in 20 chance of making it to the finish line. Those who join a group have a greater than 50% chance of finishing and the Galloway groups have over a 98% finishing success rate. What we do differently is our program extends the long run out to 26 or more miles. Also, we have pace groups that stay together when training for a marathon so the runners have friends and fun. The group leaders ensure runners don’t go too fast and we have a virtual zero percent injury rate among those who follow the program. Where runners get into trouble is when they run with a group on a long run that is going at too fast a pace – if that happens, watch out! |
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| GCR: | You conduct corporate health promotion and team building seminars across the country in an effort to help companies to motivate their workforces to commit to being fit. Do fit employees function at a higher, more consistent level than non-fit employees? |
| JG | This has been documented repeatedly over the years. I remember as far back as twenty years ago seeing results of studies that showed fit employees were more focused when on the job. I have also seen many studies that showed fit employees have better morale. The government is now starting to realize also that the only way we will be able as a country to get a handle on heath care costs are if we get in better shape as a nation. Running, walking and any exercise that doesn’t hurt you helps you to function at a higher level. Studies on exercise and longevity indicate that for every hour of exercise your life is extended for two hours. |
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| GCR: | Over the years your clinics have been for groups as diverse as NASA astronauts, Microsoft, Vice-president Al Gore, the White House Athletic Club and Homeland Security Physical Trainers? Were there any inspiring, surprising or amusing stories from these sessions? |
| JG | It was a treat for me when Al Gore was Vice-President to give him a clinic at the Vice-Presidential mansion. At the time he was hoping to train for his second marathon. He wanted me to run with him on his usual route so he called up his personal secret service agent and told him not to infringe on us. When the Vice-President thought the secret service man was too close, Gore stopped, turned and glared at him. I hadn’t met him before, but as we got to know each other that day it was obvious that he was a likeable guy, very smart and is enjoyable to spend time with. |
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| GCR: | A few years ago you wrote the book, ‘A Year-Round Plan.’ What is the focus of this book? |
| JG | The year around plan book has 52 weeks scheduled out day by day. It has all of the elements I have found are necessary to race a 5k, 10k, half marathon or full marathon or to run faster at all of the distances. If a runner wants to train for a specific race distance it has information containing all the training elements and also allows for interweaving of goals at more than one race distance. |
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| GCR: | So many runners talk about doing ‘workouts’ and don’t seem too excited. I once wrote an essay entitled ‘Take the Work out of Workouts.’ How does someone go about increasing joy and fun while running, even when training diligently and at a relatively high level? |
| JG | The first thing to do when running is to get into a smooth rhythm. If you aren’t feeling good, but have hard training session scheduled, then start out at a pace which is comfortable enough that you know you can do. What most commonly happens is a runner gets into a rhythm, starts feeling better, the endorphins start kicking in and by the middle of the workout they are having a great training session. This also reinforces one of the prime principles of training – don’t give up. If you make some adjustments you can usually resuscitate your spirit and you learn that if things aren’t going well they often come back around. The other lesson is that we are made of a lot more substance than we think we are. |
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| GCR: | In 1975 you started vacation fitness camps and still operate camps each summer in Colorado, British Columbia, and Squaw Valley, California. Are these primarily a method to emphasize the camaraderie and to increase the joy of running while still instructing attendees on elements of training? |
| JG | The camps are all about fun and friendships. We hold about 15 retreats each year in areas that are beautiful, but the endearing memories are the friends that are made. When you go running together and share experiences lifelong friendships are formed. I have occasionally cooked breakfast, but these days it seems to be limited to opening up the yogurt containers, the milk jugs and cereal boxes! My wife, Barbara, does some of the ‘real’ cooking. About one-third of camp attendees have been experiencing motivation difficulties and after the camp say they are feeling the best they have felt in years. |
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| GCR: | Your popularity as a motivational speaker sees you giving as many as 200 talks per year across the country. With the demands of travel and need to ‘be on’ for each group, how do you stay motivated? What are your thoughts on the concept of motivation as it relates to running? |
| JG | My running is a major factor in keeping me motivated. In 2011 my next book is actually about the topic of motivation. What I discovered when I looked at the research is that running activates positive emotional hormones that lock into receptor molecules throughout our body that communicate that things are good. We do determine by our actions and thought processes how we will feel. By believing in things that are good for us and activating positive hormones we have a good feeling that lingers long after the run is over. This brings us joy and motivation to do it again. Studies have also shown that running stimulates the frontal lobe of the brain which is the conscious decision-making part of the brain. Comparative tests done before and after running show that we think better and are smarter after running – contrary to what our spouses may think! |
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| GCR: | You served on the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games. How fulfilling was it to bring Olympic excitement to daily fitness, learning, and fun in the schools? |
| JG | It was wonderful as I enjoy working with kids who wish to improve their fitness. The joy that comes when kids realize that they can feel better when running and they can run faster is amazing. It unlocks a new future to them and can ensure lifelong good exercise habits. My experience in 1995 and 1996 leading up to the Olympics inspired me to write a book, ‘Fit Kids, Smarter Kids.’ The number of success stories told me that there was a need for this. Friends of mine at the Center for Disease Control steered me toward research on this topic and in the book I cite many well-known connection between kids’ exercise habits and success in school and in life. |
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| GCR: | You have children who followed in your running footsteps. How successful have they been, did you steer them toward running and were your great achievements inspirational or a bit daunting to them? |
| JG | My achievements were both intimidating and motivating for my children. Barbara and I hoped that our two kids would find some type of regular exercise they enjoyed and they did right from the beginning. Our younger son, Westin, lettered in five sports in all four years of high school and was the school’s best athlete in three of those sports. He still loves to do multiple sports. Or older son, Brennan, is focusing on running, has for a number of years and is training at the highest level in our family. In the fall of 2010 he has been running 100 mile plus weeks in preparation for a high quality marathon. He has experienced many of the issues I did with regard to ups and downs and this has led to some very good conversations about elements of training. |
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| GCR: | Do you have any tips for youngsters starting running? |
| JG | Socialization of kids is so important so making exercise groups a social magnet that draws kids will bring them together and make running fun. When my kids went to school cross country became a social sport and many children and teenagers started running who wouldn’t have thought about it except for the social aspect. We had a ‘no cut’ policy on the team and so many kids that could barely run when they started were very good runners by their senior year of high school. We need adults to provide fun, social networks and a nice snack afterward. |
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| GCR: | You trained with your dad in the summer of 2008 before he raced the Peachtree 10k. He passed away a day later at age 87. How inspirational was it running with him that summer and what did you learn from him about running as we get to an advanced age? |
| JG | My dad was my hero when I was a kid and stayed my hero all through my life. He was having major problems with his eyesight which dramatically limited his running during the last three years of his life. He had trouble seeing the running surfaces and did much more walking than running. His declining vision ended up being the cause of his death as he hadn’t trained much for Peachtree due to his visual limitations, after the race went back and took a nap, woke up feeling great and decided he was going to get in a few more miles. As he was running on a neighborhood sidewalk he tripped on an uneven surface, fell and hit his head. He had envisioned during the 15 years prior to that leaving this life while he was running and had imagined running on a hill during his last steps. That day it was on a hill he was running up that was the venue where he tripped. He had a wonderful life and taught me that in spite of failing eyesight and other issues related to aging that we can stay active, keep a positive attitude and inspire others to do so. We are all part of a community of runners and when we share these experiences it enriches our lives. |
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| GCR: | You wrote ‘Running until You’re 100’ which was published in 2006. Is this a goal of yours and what else excites you about the future in your career, personal life and active retirement years? |
| JG | Certainly the book title came out of a goal that I have. I want to shoot for running until I am 100 years old. I don’t know whether I will get there or not or go beyond 100 years, but it exemplifies a quality of life when someone can continue running into advanced age. In that book I have a ‘heroes’ section and one man I interviewed, Don McNelly, was 85 at the time. That year he finished 29 marathons and with his recent birthday at age 90 he is looking forward to running his first marathon in his new age group! I look forward to hearing his results as he is my hero. So many people over the age of 70 who continue to run marathons are very sharp and have high energy levels and I want to be like them as I get older. My major goal is to help other discover the quality of life that is achievable through regular running and walking. It really improves self-esteem, what you feel you are capable of doing and your overall quality of life. |
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| GCR: | Finally, a few years ago while travelling I was reading ‘Running until You’re 100’ and was only about two-thirds of the way through it when I left it on an airplane. Since I never finished it does this mean I’ll only run until age 67? |
| JG | (laughing) As you may know I don’t put guarantees in my book, but from what I know about you, there is a great chance that you will live well past that age. (note – Jeff didn’t leave anything to chance and was kind to send me another copy of that book!) |
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| | Inside Stuff |
| Hobbies/Interests | I am fortunate that I hear from more than 100 runners per day via e-mail. It is a joy to respond and to keep in touch as I try to give advice and read accounts of great stories about their running. I really enjoy my running-related travels and am so privileged to be able to make a living doing this and to be able to share with others |
| Nicknames | ‘Jeff’ is my nickname as my given name is actually John. It’s a southern story as to how I became known as Jeff. My parents named me John Franks Galloway as John was traditionally given to the first born in our branch of the Galloway family and Franks was the name of a family friend who perished in World War II. But neither my mother nor father liked the name, John, or wanted to call me that. As they were leaving the hospital, my mother related this to a nurse who said, ‘what are the child’s initials?’ When my mom responded, ‘J.F.,’ the nurse repeated the initials with a southern drawl which sounded like ‘Jeff’ and the rest is history |
| Favorite movie | I’m not much of a movie watcher, but Barbara and I watched the classic, ‘Casablanca,’ again recently which has to be my favorite |
| Favorite TV show | My favorite current show is NCIS. I get a kick out of the characters and it has additional meaning to me since I can relate themes in the story lines to my own experience in the Navy |
| Favorite music | Bob Dylan is my favorite singer and I particularly like his work in the 1960s and 1970s |
| Favorite books | Recently I have read several motivational books that were suggested by Barbara which have become favorites: ‘The Mind Body Prescription,’ by Dr. John Sarno, ‘Biology of Belief,’ by Bruce Lipton and ‘The Molecules of Emotion,’ by Candace Pert. I enjoy reading about how your actions can help to stimulate molecules that positively change your attitude |
| First car | It was a Dodge Rambler I bought when I was in the Navy and I called it ‘Bosco.’ I had several old used cars that I ran until they didn’t go anymore. One of those I was using in the summer of 1975 at my first summer running camp, Tahoe Trails, which was at the Mt. Rose ski resort, on the Reno-Tahoe highway. My car, a Volvo with 300,000+ miles on it, was named ‘Mobley.’ When we'd drive up over the pass to the lodge I'd have to stop halfway to add water to the radiator |
| Current car | I inherited a car from my son, Weston, as he got a job with Mizuno that includes a company car, so he didn’t need the Ford Mustang he used in high school. That Mustang isn’t really my style of vehicle, but I have learned to like it |
| Family | My wife, Barbara, and I have been married for almost 35 years. My son Brennan has produced two documentaries – one is about ultra marathoner, Tony Krupicka, and the other is about nine runners training to make the Olympic team at 5,000 meters. He lives in Connecticut and handles game day operations for their WNBA basketball team. My other son, Weston, is a technical representative with Mizuno and lives in Irvine, California |
| Pets | We had a series of Boston terrier dogs when I was growing up. Barbara and I had a mixed breed black Pointer-Labrador named Cannon that we loved a lot but she got cancer a few years ago and we lost her. We travel so much that it is hard to have a pet so we don’t currently have one, though we don’t rule that out in the future |
| Favorite meal | Over the past ten years Barbara has really expanded her repertoire of soups and salads and that is what I look forward to eating the most |
| Favorite breakfast | Usually oatmeal or yogurt with nuts and fruit |
| Favorite beverages
| I like fruit smoothies after my long runs. I love coffee in the morning and, to some extent, all day. I like strong coffee and also like to put cocoa mix in it. In the evening I like a glass of red wine as my metabolism is high and it helps me to go to sleep |
| First running memory | It has to be the one I talked about earlier when I ran the 200 yards, hid in the woods for a while and then ran back like I had been running the entire time |
| Running heroes | Billy Mills was my first real running hero and it was wonderful that I met him even before he won the Gold Medal at the 1964 Olympics. He has also inspired me by what he has done in life. He is an amazing person who has put so much back into society and especially with his fellow Native Americans. I have been fortunate to have done a number of clinics with him and gotten to know him as he is a wonderful man |
| Greatest running moment | Running with my dad is what I treasure. We did a lot of things together and the 1996 Boston Marathon when we ran together the entire way was the best moment |
| Worst running moment | There were several races in high school where I thought I was in great shape and they were total disasters because I didn’t pace myself correctly. They caused me to question whether I should continue running. Those were typical adolescent feelings and within a couple of days I would come out of it, rebound and learn something from my misfortune |
| Childhood dreams | I didn’t really have dreams until I started running. Running helped me to change my perception of myself and who I wanted to be |
| Funny memory | There were a number of fun tricks we runners played on each other. One of the strangest occurred in Munich as my roommate, Bob Wheeler, a 1,500 meter runner who just passed away recently, had a habit of doing things that kept us off guard. One day after the terrorist incident there was a large contingent of security personnel in powder blue uniforms and their submachine guns were bulging out from under their uniforms. Some of us were on our balcony watching people walking by one afternoon when all of a sudden a little thing whirled by from behind us and hit a guard – it was Bob throwing grapes at the security guards – Jack Bacheler and I were looking down at the guards – not good! So we nonchalantly stepped back and blended away into the sunset. Bob was a talented runner and was one of our small group that had lots of fun there in the village |
| Embarrassing moment | There were a very few puking experiences due to racing mistakes and those had to be the most embarrassing moments that I strove to avoid |
| Favorite places to travel | Lake Tahoe is special to me for the beauty, the trails, the solitude you can find when exploring and the friendships that have developed over the years with those who attend our camps. Barbara and I love the Florida panhandle between Panama City and Destin |
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