We lost Jeff Galloway on February 25, 2026. He was 80 years old and recently, had experienced a stroke. Jeff died from complications from that stroke. His family, friends, fans and the running culture has lost one of its most amazing evangelists.
I was speaking with Mike Deering, production manager for our podcasts and Mike and I wondered out loud about reposting this interview from six years ago. In my mind, it truly captures the spirit and thoughtfulness of Jeff Galloway, who changed running with his run/walk method.
What many do not know is his stature as an elite runner, making the 10,000 meter team in 1972, with Florida Track Club team members Frank Shorter and Jack Bacheler. To learn about his time at the Florida Track Club and his journey to the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, from the site of iconic running writer, Jack Dog Welch, please click here.
RunBlogRun presents Socialing
The Distance with Larry Eder
Featuring Jeff Galloway
Jeff Galloway was a 1972 Olympian, at the 10,000m. He could have also made the marathon, team but he was pacing his training partner Jack Bacheler to make the team in the marathon.
Jeff Galloway and Jack Bachelor, 1972 Olympic Trials Marathon
Jeff Galloway began his love with running at the age of thirteen, and has not stopped running since.
Jeff had a career in the Navy, just as his father did. After 4 years at Wesleyan, with the likes of Bill Rodgers and Amby Burfoot, Jeff enlisted in the Navy, spent 3 years in Vietnam, on a Navy tanker, was shot at by a Russian navy ship, but only wanted to get in a good run when he got shore leave.
In 1970-1972, Jeff trained with Jack Bacheler and Frank Shorter. At the time Galloway was 4 minutes behind standards in Marathon and 3 minutes behind in 10,000m. He made the 10,000m event in 1972 Olympic team and helped Jack Bacheler make the marathon team.
In later years, Jeff Galloway continued to develop as an athlete, but loved helping get people into the sport. He had demystified running to the masses, and should be recognized as the person who began the third running movement. In the third running boom, more people, who believed that they could not run, participated as they took modest ways to move and build into running. Jeff Galloway gave many runners their starts by helping them look at running in achievable segments.
Jeff Galloway, in modern times…
We thank Jeff Galloway, on his time with us in this interview and with all he has contributed to the sport.
We also thank Olivia Flores, with Jill Schmidt PR on getting this interview together. Special thanks to Mike Deering on managing these inteviews and the Socialing the Distance program.
Time Stamps
Time Stamp:
0:00 – Introduction
1:21 – Running early in life
6:19 – Wesleyan University with Bill Rodgers & Amby Burfoot
7:21 – Training during College/Vietnam
9:08 – More on Vietnam
11:05 – Time in the Navy/Reserves
11:26 – Return to running in 1970
14:47 – 1972 Olympic Trials 10,000m & Marathon
20:10 – Workouts with the Florida Track Club
21:50 – Training with Jack Bachelor
24:04 – Demystifying Running/3rd Running Boom/Run Walk Run method
30:20 – Where to find more about Jeff’s story
30:58 – Virtual Training Program
33:14 – Missing Travel
34:13 – On The Blocks
35:16 – Ending
35:45 – Epilogue
