Jeff Galloway ran the 10,000 meters for the U.S. in the 1972 Olympics and is known worldwide for his unique and accessible training methods. Galloway was in Lawrence on Friday and Saturday to celebrate the start of the new training program RunWalkLawrence.

Former Olympian Jeff Galloway has made a career out of running. And to get others into the sport, he encourages them … to walk.

Galloway, a member of the 1972 Olympic team in the 10,000 meters, stopped in Lawrence on Friday to celebrate the launch of RunWalk Lawrence, which uses Galloway’s technique of taking strategic walk breaks while running to reduce injuries and speed up recovery times.

He spoke Friday about how exercise helps the brain — “turn your brain around and you can turn your life around” — and how many people (“over 300,000”) have benefited from his program.

“Run a little bit and then walk — you get all the empowerment without the pain,” said Galloway, who is still in great shape at 68. “And you get the reward that only exercise brings.”

J. Jenkins, an avid runner and the manager of Garry Gribble’s Running Sports in Lawrence, started RunWalk Lawrence last October because of a strong belief in Galloway’s “run-walk-run” approach.

“It keeps the legs fresh. People find that they’re less sore, less likely to get injured,” said Jenkins, who has utilized Galloway’s approach to prepare for marathons and get back into shape after surgery. “They enjoy their runs more, and they’re getting all of the same benefits.”

While nearly 100 of these programs exist across the country, RunWalkLawrence is the only one in Kansas.

Galloway will be in Lawrence on Saturday as well. At 8 a.m., he will take part in a free 5K fun run at Garry Gribble’s Running Sports, 839 Massachusetts St. At 10 a.m., he will teach a running school in the gallery space above Signs of Life, 722 Massachusetts St. (the cost is $100, or $40 for RunWalk Lawrence members). Then, at 1:30 p.m., he will be signing books at Gary Gribble’s Running Sports.