This morning’s run took place in Washington D.C. on the National Mall, marking 3500 consecutive days of running every day. Lately, the distance has been consistently 3.1 miles – 5k a day, with a minimum of 1 mile per day necessary to maintain my streak as officially registered on the www.runeveryday.com website. In the first couple years of this challenge, I was averaging at least 2 miles a day to safely assure that I would record that required uninterrupted mile. The distance has varied over time but I can confidently say that I’ve easily averaged 2.5 miles every day – that’s over 8,750 miles, the equivalence of more than three cross-country trips on foot. Considered only “proficient” by comparable “streaking” standards as outlined on the website, I intend to keep going as long as I can. At the end of this year, I will hopefully remain healthy and surpass the 10-year mark that will earn an upgrade to “experienced.”

It’s been quite an experience since the initial challenge presented itself. It was at one of my wife’s  business dinners that I became aware of the program – thanks Chris Anderson! I waited until the end of the year to get started, planning to kick-off 2009 with a one-year commitment. It takes a full year of running every day to officially join this group, and earn a certificate. The rest is history! To give you an idea of how my particular accomplishment pales in comparison to other “streakers,” the current leader is about to pass 18,000 days and 50 years! I bow to you, Jon Sutherland of West Hills, California. There are 63 runners at 10-15 years, 16 on the 15-20 year “well versed” list, 23 “highly skilled” at 20-25 years, and so on. In fact, there are 202 runners ahead of me in this endurance endeavor, where attrition is the only way to move up the list. Speed and mileage have nothing to do with “streaking,” so it’s a race that suits my slow but steady pace. 

In this current 10-year span, I recall running in 23 different states:  New York, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Florida, California, Oregon, Arizona, Washington, California, Texas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Iowa, three different Hawaiian islands, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Illinois. I’ve also logged mileage in Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, France, Mexico, Tahiti, Bora-Bora, Montenegro, Greece, and Croatia. My career miles have then extended to Canada, multiple Caribbean Islands, cruise ships, treadmills, river cruises, vineyards, golf courses, bridges, beaches, sand dunes, dirt trails, gravel roads, cobblestone sidewalks, and wooded trails. Like the unofficial motto our the U.S. Postal Service: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat of night stays these couriers (streakers) from the swift completion of their appointed (daily one-mile) rounds.”

It’s not easy to run everyday, considering travel, illness, hangovers, injuries, and just plain laziness that could just as swiftly take me out of contention. It’s much easier to just stay in bed. It’s been an exercise in discipline, and I’m proud to just make it this far down the road. Ten years or bust, and then maybe ten more!