Daily Running: The Streak Runner’s Journey

I’m feeling quite ill today – in fact, I’ve got a fever, but as you can see, I’m out here running anyway. Why am I doing it? Because I’m a streak runner. A streak runner is someone who runs every day. You never miss a day, no matter what, even if you’re ill. If I didn’t run today, it would end my running streak – that’s the number of days I’ve run without missing a day – and I would have to start again from the beginning. That would be very upsetting after I’ve run for 400 consecutive days! This is the best I’ve ever done – I’ve tried a few times before, but I always stopped after a week or two.

But what I’ve done is nothing compared to people who have been streaking for years and years. I can keep track of everybody who does it through our organization, the US Running Streak Association. They keep a list on their website of all the runners in the United States, and they’ve got a Facebook page where we all tell our running stories.

Anyone can become a member of the Association by paying $20, but you can’t be on the list until you’ve run every day for at least a year. You can run outside, or inside on a treadmill, and as slow or fast as you like – but it doesn’t count as a streak unless it’s at least a mile a day. For each person, the list shows the date they started running and the length of their streak in days since they began. And also where they live and their occupation. It’s quite a long list, which is really amazing – all these people that run in the heat, in the cold, in blizzards, or when they’re ill.

Some people say that streak running isn’t healthy, and the association posts a warning to new runners. They advise you never to try a running streak until you’ve been running regularly for at least six months. But streaking isn’t dangerous unless you over-train. It’s actually better to under-train for a while – you may not accomplish as much, but at least you won’t be injured.

And of course, even experienced athletes need to rest on some days. The way streak runners rest is, on one or two days a week we just take a shorter run or run a little more slowly.

One of the people I admire most is Jon Sutherland – he holds the streak record on our list. He started as an 18-year-old student back in 1969 and hasn’t stopped for over 45 years. He’s a music lover, but he prefers quiet when he runs. That’s so weird – I can’t run without my music!

A lot of people are surprised to learn that through the years, Jon has run with ten broken bones and also after having knee surgery. It may sound unusual, but streak runners do things like that all the time. Every athlete deals with pain – you learn to live with it and keep going.

Streak running gives me a purpose. I know exactly where I’m going when I get up every morning. No matter where I’m traveling and what pressures I’ve got at work or at home – I’m going out to run. You might say it’s an addiction, but I think it’s fine as long as it doesn’t take over your life. Actually, after you run, you feel you’ve taken some time to do something for yourself, so after that, it’s easier to focus on your family and the other people in your life.