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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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A common concern is that [[Walking Breaks]] are not suitable for faster marathoner. I'd like to consider [[Walking Breaks]] for training and racing as two slightly separate issues.
==Walking Breaks for Marathon Training==
I believe that [[Walking Breaks]] can play a useful part in any marathon training program. Even if you don't use the overall Galloway plan, it is possible to extend some of your [[Long Run]]s by adding [[Walking Breaks]]. For instance, [[Jack Daniels Running Formula]] has a mixture of [[Long Run]]s that incorporate speedwork and those that are at a steady pace. The steady pace runs could easily be swapped out for longer runs with [[Waking Walking Breaks]]. So even if you don't take Walking Breaks in your race, I'd recommend considering doing some of your [[Long Run]]s this way.
==Marathon Racing with Walking Breaks ==
The use of [[Walking Breaks]] during a marathon makes sense to me for runners taking more than 4:30 to finish, and I believe they are the best option for those taking 5:30 or longer to finish. For faster runners things are less clear. Galloway reports over 100 runners improving their times to below 3:00 using his approach, and there is a report of Galloway coaching Jeff did coach one athlete that achieved a 2:28 finish time by using 15 second Walking Breaks for the first 20 miles. Their prior PR was 2:33, which is a 5 minute reduction. This indicates that the Galloway approach can be viable, but it that does not mean it's optimal. My main concerns with using [[Walking Breaks]] in a faster marathon is the stress on the body in transitioning from running to walking and back again. As your pace becomes faster, so the transition becomes more stressful.
