Plan your run/walk intervals with the Jeff Galloway method. Enter your walk pace, run interval, walk interval, and target overall pace — and get back the exact running pace you need to hit your goal. Perfect for race day planning or training runs. Also try the Running Calorie Calculator.
Required Running Pace
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Run Pace (mm:ss / mile)
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% of Time Walking
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% of Time Running
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Estimated Finish Time
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Interval Cycle Length
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The Jeff Galloway method, also called Run-Walk-Run, involves alternating planned running intervals with short walk breaks throughout your run or race. Rather than running until exhaustion forces a walk, you take strategic walk breaks from the start. This approach reduces injury risk, delays fatigue, and often leads to faster overall finish times — especially for longer distances like half marathons and marathons. See also our calculate Running Speed.
When you include walk breaks, your running pace must be faster than your goal overall average pace to compensate for the slower walking segments. This calculator works out exactly how fast you need to run during the run intervals so that — averaged with your walk segments — you hit your target overall pace.
The Magic Mile is a Jeff Galloway time trial where you run one mile at a comfortably hard effort to predict your race performance. Your Magic Mile time can be used to estimate goal race paces, which you then plug into this run/walk interval calculator to find the exact run pace and interval strategy needed for race day.
Galloway recommends different ratios depending on your goal pace. Faster runners (sub-10 min/mile) might use 4–5 minutes running to 1 minute walking, while slower runners may benefit from 30 seconds running to 30 seconds walking. Common beginner-friendly ratios are 3:1, 2:1, or 1:1 (minutes run to minutes walked). You might also find our find Distance (km) with Steps to km Calculator useful.
Absolutely. Many runners use the run/walk strategy in official races, including marathons and half marathons. The key is to stick to your planned intervals from the very start rather than waiting until you feel tired, which is when most runners make the mistake of starting to walk. Pre-planning your intervals with this calculator helps you set realistic expectations.
Counterintuitively, strategic walk breaks often improve finish times compared to running continuously at the same effort. By conserving energy early, you avoid the dramatic slowdown that typically happens in the final miles of longer races. Many Galloway runners finish faster using run/walk than they did trying to run the whole race.
If the calculated run pace is too fast for you, try adjusting your inputs — either increase your walk interval length, decrease your run interval length, or adjust your target overall pace. The calculator will instantly show you the trade-offs so you can find a comfortable and realistic interval strategy.
For best results, maintain a purposeful, brisk walk during your walk breaks — typically 15:00 to 18:00 minutes per mile. Shuffling or strolling slows your average pace significantly. Galloway recommends keeping your walk segments consistent and deliberate so the math of your intervals stays predictable.