“I am a runner because of Jeff Galloway.” It’s a sentence that Chris Twiggs, a longtime friend and co-worker of Galloway, says he’s heard from thousands of runners since working with him over the past 16 years.
On February 25, 2026, Galloway, whom iRunFar founder Bryon Powell considers one of the top five most influential runners of the past half-century, passed away at age 80 due to complications from a brain bleed. It was with deep sadness that I learned this news last week, but I’m certain that, while gone in person, Galloway will continue to live in running lore for his racing, including the 10,000-meter event at the 1972 Olympic Games, his race directing, and his run-walk coaching method. But perhaps what he will be most remembered for is his ability to inspire people to do far more than they thought they could.
Jeff Galloway: runner, coach, race director. All photos: Chris Twiggs
A few days after Galloway’s death, I caught up with Twiggs, an 17-time Hardrock 100 finisher and a stalwart of the trail running and ultrarunning community. Twiggs has been an integral part of the Galloway coaching team for 16 years, and he told me he owes much of his success to the lessons he learned along the way from Galloway. “The first time I heard Jeff talk was in 1995. He spoke the night before a marathon my wife and I were running. He told us to take walk breaks. We thought he was crazy, but we gave it a try, and my wife qualified for the Boston Marathon. We were instant fans of ‘Jeffing.'”
Galloway popularized a run-walk training and racing protocol, and “Jeffing” soon became a global phenomenon. “Imagine having your name become a verb!” exclaimed Twiggs in thinking about Galloway. Having worked for Galloway for many years, Twiggs had endless experiences with him as a co-worker, runner, and friend. “Jeff helped me qualify for the Boston Marathon multiple times, run distances I thought impossible, and enjoy running on a level I never would have believed. More importantly, Jeff showed me how to listen to, believe in, and empower other runners to achieve their dreams, one run-walk-run at a time.”
Learning the Sport from Galloway
I personally became a Galloway fan early on in my running career. In September of 1989, about a week shy of my 22nd birthday, I ran my first road race: the Philadelphia Distance Run half marathon. I had recently graduated from college and was starting my first teaching job at the William Penn Charter School. A tad overweight and eager for a new challenge, I signed up for the race on a dare to myself, to see if I could do it, and to see — if I did manage to do it — what it would do for me.
I crossed the finish line on that late September day about an hour and 50 minutes after I started, and I was wrecked. My quads were screaming in pain, and my breathing felt like I was inhaling and exhaling through a straw. In short, for the first time in my young life, I had turned myself inside out. At that moment, I was inspired to do it again — and to do it better. I just needed some advice.
Galloway inspired thousands of runners to get out and move.
When I returned to school the following Monday, I sought out Penn Charter’s legendary track and field coach, Steve Bonnie, who was a 15-time defending Inter-Academic Track and Field Championships coach at the time. As we shared fried chicken and biscuits over lunch that day, he asked me how my race went and nodded knowingly as I rehashed the steady and inexorable decline into misery that characterized my experience at the Philadelphia Distance Run.
Arriving at school the next morning, I was greeted at my mailbox with the usual scribbled phone messages and stacks of report cards, as well as a book, “Galloway’s Book on Running,” accompanied by a handwritten note from Coach Bonnie: “Wilkie, read this book and follow this advice, you have potential in this game.”
Over the next week, during every free period, and at home in the evenings, instead of writing lesson plans and grading papers, I devoured Galloway’s wisdom. His theories on pacing, nutrition, training volume, and especially his walk-run method all spoke to me, and as a wannabe runner, made running seem so accessible, exceedingly simple, and just plain fun. It was the start of something that would redirect my life.
Providing Inspiration
I have a deep appreciation for Galloway and everything he did and represented. Having inspired three generations of runners just like me, Galloway was a guy who motivated us all to just get out there, whether running or walking. Galloway was, in his heart, a believer in the power of movement, a believer in running as something peaceful, enjoyable, and playful. Running was something to be savored and enjoyed for a lifetime.
According to Twiggs, my Galloway experience isn’t unique. “The stories people tell are of empowerment. They didn’t think they could be runners; then Jeff told them they could do it, so they did it: a 5k, a half marathon, a marathon, an ultra. Whether your goal was to finish a Disney race in front of the Balloon Ladies (if you know, you know) or to qualify for Boston, Jeff believed in you. More than that, he had a method, a run-walk ratio, that would get you there.” Twiggs sums it up well, saying, “Jeff Galloway had a bigger impact on my life than any person outside of my own family, and hundreds of thousands of people can say the same thing, many of whom never even met him.”
He will be missed.
Bottoms up!
Jeff Galloway (right) finishes a Disney race and looks for the Balloon Ladies along with runner Chris Twiggs.
