Early in his career, Jeff Galloway won the first marathon he entered in 1963, won the first Peachtree Classic 10K on July 4, 1970, made the 1972 U.S. Olympic team at 10,000 meters, and ran the Houston Marathon in 2:16+.

Later in his life, Galloway made much bigger contributions. For the last 40 years he has focused his attention on teaching beginning and intermediate (and injured) runners how they can use his Run-Walk-Run method to get fit, avoid injuries, and maybe run faster than they had imagined possible.

Few if any other elite runners have made such a complete transition from the front of the pack to the middle and back. Along the way, Galloway has transformed the lives of untold thousands of his followers.

He also kept running marathons, though now usually in 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, and occasionally even 6 hours. There was nothing wrong with slow, he argued (and showed). It was all about maintaining your body in good enough shape to keep moving forward.

Galloway more than practiced what he preached. He went to new frontiers. Several weeks ago, it appeared that he would become the first person known to complete a marathon in 8 consecutive decades of life--from the teens into the 80s. 

Then "The Universe seemed to develop another plan for me," as he put it. A household accident led to a leg injury that prevented his travel to Honolulu.

That's unlikely to stop Galloway for long. The Universe has tossed him obstacles in the past, and he has always developed a new approach to keeping fit and healthy. He'll no doubt follow that path as long as he can.

For more on Jeff Galloway and his coaching, training plans, and camps, visit JeffGalloway.com.

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