Run/walk

I've just read the article on the website titled "Why run/walk really works". Previously I've always had the attitude that I need to run all my training runs and races, and that anything else is a form of wimping out. Now the guy (Amby Burfoot) who wrote the article and advocates run/walk is a former winner of the Boston Marathon, and as such demands respect. So now I'm thinking I should at least try his method once - maybe for my long effort this weekend.

He does say that run/walk might not suit everyone, but suggests that it should be given a chance. I think I'll try 9/1 (9 mins running, 1 min walking) for 2 hours and see if I feel any different at the end.

Has anyone else experimented or been converted to this method?

Not regularly . During my first Marathon in 1994, when going through 21 miles I stopped running, but thought "I can walk pretty fast, so I'll do that", so for the next mile (before I could get more oomph into my legs) I did a mixture. I actually overtook a fair few people who were running....

Time was 3:38, despite the walking; but really I had little choice.

The only time I've walked is on off road races when the hills are too steep to run up. I then alternated running with the occasional fast walk and sometimes a crawl! On road runs I wouldn't walk unless I was suffering an injury, but that's just me.

I've used run/walk and still do, a bit, on longer runs, but wouldn't if I was as good a runner as Tim and Hilly. It's quite difficult to slow down and walk when your legs want to run!

When I restarted in July after a break, what I did was less run/walk than walk/run.

Where it does help is that if you're doing a distance that you know will challenge you, if you plan walking breaks into the EARLY part of your run rather than waiting until you're desperate for a rest, you'll probably travel further and faster than if you pelted out the first few miles then were forced to slow down.

So - sensible, and not at all wimpy.