Run/Walk to a Boston Marathon Qualifying Time

FOR SOME MARATHONERS, walking feels like the enemy-a pace to avoid at all costs while trekking to the finish line. But for others, walking isn't a weakness. Instead, it's a strength, a part of the plan, and the ticket to a new, Boston-qualifying PR.

- LAUREL LEICHT

In fact, that's the beauty of the run/walk method, popularized by Coach Jeff Galloway, in which you run for a certain number of minutes, walk for a shorter interval, and repeat.

"Walk breaks prevent fatigue from building up at the same rate it does when running continuously-so you feel better during a run, recover faster afterward, and can run faster at virtually every distance," explains Chris Twiggs, 51, chief training officer for Galloway Training. Twiggs has worked full-time at Galloway since 2010 and has been a run/walk advocate since the mid-1990s. He has used the method to nab six Boston-qualifying race finishes, and finished the 2022 Boston Marathon in 3:25:27.

Sound too good to be true? It's not, though it also isn't quite as simple as stopping to walk whenever you need a breather. Here's everything you need to know about the run/walk method's benefits and how to give it a go and even use it to score that BQ.

What a run/walk training plan looks like

A typical Galloway marathon plan calls for only two or three short runs during the training week, based on time rather than distance, and either speedwork or a long run on the weekends. Most plans stretch for 29 weeks, and like most marathon training plans, you'll build up your long-run mileage throughout the plan (hitting 26 miles for your longest long run), with recovery weeks mixed throughout and a taper before race day.

If you'd rather stick to running and mix in walking only for longer training sessions, that's doable. That's how Twiggs approaches his schedule, saving the run/walk intervals for weekend sessions and running only for most of his midweek miles.