Jeff Galloway death: Olympic runner and pioneer of the run-walk-run movement, who inspired millions, passes away at 80

Jeff Galloway did not just run marathons, but changed the way everyday people thought about running them. The former 1972 U.S. Olympian died Wednesday in Pensacola, Florida, after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke, according to his daughter-in-law Carissa Galloway.

In the days leading up to his passing, supporters had flooded the internet with videos and messages after his family shared that he had undergone emergency neurosurgery on February 20. Runners posted old race photos, shared stories from finish lines and thanked him for helping them believe they could start in the first place. Even in those final days, the running community showed just how deeply his philosophy had reached.

The method that changed marathon running

Jeff Galloway competed in the 10,000 meters at the 1972 Olympics, but his lasting legacy began two years later. In 1974, he agreed to teach a running class through Florida State University. The class was made up of beginners who had not run in years. Instead of pushing them hard, he introduced short jogging intervals between walking breaks. “None had done any running for at least five years. So we started walking with a few one-minute jogs,” Galloway has said on his website.

He explained how he adjusted the sessions carefully. “I spent some time with each group, during the runs, to adjust the frequency of walk breaks so that no one was huffing and puffing — even at the end,” he said. “Walk breaks kept the groups together. Everyone passed the final exam: finishing either a 5K or a 10K with smiles on their faces.”That approach became known as the run-walk-run method. Galloway believed walking during races reduced injury risk and preserved energy.

“I’ve been using them ever since," he said, “continuing to fine-tune the ratios of running to walking based upon pace per mile and individual needs.” He even tested the method himself. During the 1980 Houston Marathon, he walked through every water station and finished in 2:16:35, faster than his previous run-only efforts.

For many runners, finishing a race was no longer about speed but about belief.Galloway completed more than 230 marathons and survived heart failure in 2021. Even at 80, he still hoped to run another. As he told The New York Times last December, “My mission now, at the age of 80-plus, is to show that people can do things that are normally not done, and can do them safely.”He is survived by two sons and six grandchildren.