By the year 2030, I could be 79 years old, and have a running streak of 22 years, as unlikely as it seems. Right now, I stand at 4,885 days or 13.37 years and sputtering. I keep a diary that goes back twenty-two years, so I can tell you when, where, and how long I’ve run on most of these days. The Streak started in Austin, Texas after a challenge by a new friend. He told me about the United States Running Streak Association and the runeveryday.com website that lists other “streaker kooks” like myself. I’ve since lived in Oregon as well as Florida and haven’t missed a day since it all began on December 29, 2008. I did run before the streak began, but never put together more than a couple months straight of consistent daily practice. Even when I was training for marathons, I usually took at least a day or two off every week to give my body a chance to recover. My first such endeavor at this distance was October 14, 1979 in Detroit, Michigan. 

I can remember a family reunion sometime in the mid-1970s when it was suggested that I had “put on a few pounds.” The very next day, I was out running on the path through the woods behind our lake home to lose those apparently noticeable pounds. I was too embarrassed to have anybody see me doing it, although eventually it led to many races, including the crowning marathon. There were also events in Elkhart, South Bend, Plymouth, Saugatuck, Dowagiac, Bristol, Goshen, Indianapolis, Ft. Wayne, and even Chicago where I would travel to earn a ribbon or t-shirt for going the distance. 

I’ve run in at least 26 of the 48 states I’ve visited so far (41 with my  current wife) and 11 different countries. I plan to add runs this summer in Nashville, Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; Hilton Head, South Carolina; Alaska, and Japan. Next year, I’ll make it to Maine, my 50th state, and add that run to my total, along with Egypt. For some reason, I have not run in Kentucky, West Virginia, Delaware, Virginia, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Mexico, Mississippi, North or South Dakota, Vermont, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Maybe I can work some of these in on next year’s excursion to Maine? I have a lot more spots to cover around the world, but realistically I’m never going to get to them all, as I continue to try to run the world.