I’m a big proponent of alternating intervals of walking and running for beginner runners, injured runners, and those returning to running after time off from running…either due to injury or life.
Legendary runner, coach, and author Jeff Galloway first coined the term “Run-Walk-Run” during the 1970s. He took his knowledge of running as a 10,000-meter Olympian (1972) and as a shoe store owner to teach a class to those new to the sport. The group was mostly beginners—those who’d not run either very much, or at all. During the course of the 10-week class, Galloway developed a method to help new runners increase their endurance without getting injured. At the end of the 10 weeks his entire class successfully completed either a 5K or 10K.
Galloway has since written numerous books on the topic of his Run-Walk-Run method and has transformed thousands of non-runners to runners. There are a whole host of reasons why alternating running and walking works for new runners. And they’re the same reasons utilizing a run-walk-run method works for returning runners…whether returning from injury, or from a bout of not running for any reason at all.
As a certified running coach, author of two running books, running journalist, and runner of 35 years, I’ve prescribed walk/running to others many times as a sustainable, enjoyable way to get into running. I’ve also adhered to run-walk-running myself. I’ve not been a beginner runner in a long time, but the value of run/walking goes beyond beginners. I’ve utilized run-walk-run to return from various injuries, to get up massive hills during mountain runs, and even to push myself during races. For the latter, when slowed to a walk by terrain and exhaustion, I walk to catch my breath enough and regain strength in my legs (and my mental state!) before rolling back into running. It’s an efficient strategy that’s based on the same principles as run-walk-running for beginners.
Here are 10 reasons why alternating running with walking works across many applications, but especially for beginner runners:
1) Running strains your heart rate, your muscles, your lungs. This is all good and healthy, but running for a short period and then walking allows those systems to recover safely before taxing them again.
2) Walking and running use some of the same muscles (quads, hamstrings, adductors), but also some different muscles (running taps more into the core, the glutes, more hip muscles). Taking walking breaks creates variety in your body, and variety is good.
3) Walking breaks allow any “weak links” (a Galloway term), like a strained muscle you may be testing out, or an uneven gait that might be causing pain in a hip, to recover and reset.
4) Walking breaks allow you to check in with yourself and either any weak links, or your overall system. Running through a whole workout often means you don’t check in with yourself until after you’re done running—which can be dangerous for new runners or for those getting back into running post-injury.
5) Walking breaks give you a mental reset. They literally and figuratively allow you to catch your breath, reset, and rally for the next run segment.
6) Walking breaks allow you to actually run faster during your running segments than you would if you ran the whole time. While speed shouldn’t necessarily be the goal for new runners, consider that your pace is faster during your shorter run segments than it would be if you ran the whole time. This applies to seasoned runners during races with challenging terrain—slowing to a walk on a steep hill allows your heartrate to come down to a reasonable level, which then allows you to kick back into high gear for an overall faster effort.
7) Alternating running and walking allows a beginner ease into becoming a runner. The walking breaks keep you from wrecking yourself. “Ease” is the keyword here. Wrecking yourself by running through a workout when your body (and even your mind) aren’t ready can make you hate running and can cause injury. A 2014 study found that those who completed a marathon utilizing the run-walk-run method reported less muscle strain than those who ran the entire way—and the two groups completed the distance in similar finishing times.
8) The goal of None to Run (and my book, “Running That Doesn’t Suck”) is to help you become someone who enjoys running. Not being completely wrecked, sore, and exhausted at the end of a workout can help you keep a positive outlook on running.
9) Alternating running with walking helps you build endurance. Picture an inchworm reaching ahead, then catching up, then reaching ahead again. While run-walking takes patience (I imagine inchworms have a lot of patience), it gets you where you want to go in the long run—to 30 minutes of continuous running.
10) Just as a day off between run-walk workouts allows your overall system to recover and reset between workout days, the walk portions of your workouts allow your entire system to recover from the run segments. Days in between, and walking segments, allow you to get back out there and get moving again.
