Jeff Galloway spent much of his life making distance running feel possible for people who didn’t necessarily see themselves as distance runners. Eight months after his death , New York Road Runners is honoring just how much that changed the sport.

Galloway has been named the 2026 recipient of the Abebe Bikila Award, which NYRR presents annually to someone who has made a major contribution to distance running. He will receive the honor posthumously , during the New York City Marathon Opening Ceremony on October 30, shortly before this year’s NYRR Hall of Fame class is inducted.

The award carries some serious marathon history of its own. Abebe Bikila won Olympic gold for Ethiopia in Rome in 1960, famously racing barefoot, before defending his title four years later in Tokyo. That second victory made him the first athlete ever to win two Olympic marathons.

Galloway’s own résumé could have kept the conversation focused on fast times.…