I was invited to make a submission for the next USRSA (United States Running Streak Association) newsletter, as my running streak hits 13-years. Here’s what I offered:

I’ve officially started my 14th consecutive year of running every day, with year 13 ending in a disappointing fizzle. Five of the last six days I’ve struggled with a back injury that forced me to drop my route to the minimum mile. Of course, I always add an extra tenth in case my GPS is slightly off or stop at 15 minutes if the distance is unmeasurable – just in case!

I’m now back to the normal 5k path that takes me through the neighborhood. I started this habit a few days before the New Year back then to get a jump on my resolution and with a plan to celebrate my 60th birthday with about 1000 straight days (it was actually more like 972). It could have been a stopping point, but instead has continued on to 4,751 and counting. This recent pain could have also been reason to stop – but I didn’t!

At 70 years old, my pace is embarrassingly slow and my balance awkward, but I keep on going. I can’t even tell you how many miles I’ve traveled during this streak but it has to be close to 12,000, nearly half way around the Earth. I’ll also bet that I covered the other half in the years before I discovered streaking. In that prior life, I did a couple marathons and earned hundreds of t-shirts, ribbons, certificates of completion, and cheap medals. I always seemed to finish in the middle of the pack, even on a good day. The Detroit Marathon, Hood to Coast Relay, and several Indy 500 Half-Marathons were my most memorable accomplishments.

 Just recently, I ran my first race in years, the Braves Tomahawk 5k in my hometown of Venice, Florida. Earlier this year I went out of my way to meet the “Raven” in Miami to honor his now 47-year journey. I did not run with him or earn a nickname because I’ve been injured on sand before and prefer mornings to his evening treks on the beach. Also, my 5k daily standard is about all I can handle any more. My goal these days is just stay healthy, not push it, and be satisfied with the daily effort. After all, I will not live long enough to compete with the leaders of the pack. As always, I’m in the middle and not even yet “Well Versed” at 15-years.

This streak started on the streets of Austin, Texas and moved to the hills of Portland, Oregon. Now, I’m on flat, hot, Florida surfaces, but I’ve also lived in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, so I’ve experienced most of the weather extremes. However, back then I had to decide whether to run or not every day, now I’m left with the obvious choice. Running every day was the bridge from my working years into retirement, as I also celebrate 5-years of freedom. My morning routine has continued to be the same throughout this transition and will hopefully continue tomorrow.

Happy New Year,

May the Streak Be With You.