A quick scan of what happened.

• Records Fall at Ironman New Zealand as the 2026 Pro Series Gets Underway - Britain's Kat Matthews and American Trevor Foley won the opening race of the Ironman Pro Series in Taupō on March 7th. Matthews was dominant on the women's side, winning in 8:28:55 — more than ten minutes faster than the previous course record. The men's race had a different script: Foley surged past hometown favorite Kyle Smith midway through the marathon to take the win. Reigning Pro Series champion Kristian Blummenfelt, the heavy pre-race favorite, finished sixth.

• HYROX Americas Regional Championships: Weeks and Learn Win in Washington D.C. - The HYROX Americas Regional Championships took place March 7–8 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Lauren Weeks won the Elite women's race in 56:27, leading for the majority of the event. Cole Learn claimed the men's title in 53:37 — just 22 seconds off the world record — taking the lead on the sled pull and never looking back.

• LA Marathon Awards Finisher Medals at Mile 18 - Ahead of Sunday's race, the LA Marathon announced a one-time "Mile 18 Option" allowing runners to exit the course at mile 18 and still receive an official finisher medal, citing forecasted temperatures in the low 80s. The decision generated immediate controversy in the running community, while Organizers framed it as a safety-first response to extreme conditions. News to us that 80 degrees is considered “extreme conditions” these days…

The running world lost a legend last month. Jeff Galloway, a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic team who spent decades helping everyday runners reach starting lines they never thought possible, passed away on February 25 at the age of 80. Galloway is best known for his run-walk-run method — a simple but counterintuitive idea that taking planned walk breaks during your runs isn't a sign of weakness. It's a strategy.

The Method

Galloway's core argument was straightforward: most runners train too hard on their easy days, and it costs them. His solution? Walk one minute after every mile during your easy runs. That's it. You keep moving, but you deliberately bring your heart rate down before it can creep into territory that starts accumulating fatigue you don't need.

The result is a workout that actually stays easy. Your legs get the mileage without the wear. Your cardiovascular system gets the stimulus without the stress. And because you're not grinding through junk miles at a moderately hard effort, you recover faster and show up to your hard workouts with something left in the tank.

It's also one of the more sustainable ways to build mileage. Runners trying to increase their weekly volume often hit a wall — not because their fitness isn't there, but because they add miles at the same intensity and their body can't absorb the load. Structured walk breaks let you add time on feet without proportionally adding fatigue.

The Problem with Running Too Hard

Without incorporating easy runs that are actually easy, you’ll run into three issues:

1.      Recovery suffers. Moderate-intensity running — not hard enough to produce real adaptation, but hard enough to require recovery — is the sweet spot for accumulating fatigue without accumulating fitness. You end up tired without getting faster.

2.      Injury risk rises. A disproportionate amount of running injuries aren't caused by a single hard effort. They're the product of repetitive load that the body never fully recovered from. Running too hard on easy days adds to that load without the high-intensity benefits that would justify it.

3.      Your hard workouts get worse. Without recovering properly, you can't hit your intervals at the intensity that produces real aerobic adaptation. The whole structure of a training week — easy days enable hard days — breaks down when the easy days aren't easy.

What Easy Actually Feels Like

Easy pace is slower than you think. You should be able to hold a full conversation. If you're breathing too hard to talk, you're not in Zone 2.

A common way to ensure you are keeping your runs aerobic is to use the Maffetone Method. Subtract your age from 180 (e.g. 180 – 35 = 145) and that gives you your max aerobic heart rate. Keep your heart rate below this level during all of your easy runs. Walk breaks are a great way to adhere to this.

The Bottom Line

Planned walk breaks aren't a concession — they're a tool for managing load, staying healthy, and showing up consistently over weeks and months of training.

Consistency compounds. A runner who strings together six uninterrupted months of smart, controlled training will outpace one who trains hard for eight weeks and spends the next four recovering from an injury they didn't need to get.

Sometimes you need to train smarter, not harder.

If you found this useful, forward to your training partners.

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