Run. Every. Day.

I’ve run everyday for years

This is for runners, joggers and anyone trying to meet a goal. If that’s not you, you likely won’t like this. 

I have a running streak going. Everyday for the last two years, I’ve run. That’s 730 days. That’s countless kilometres. That’s a lot of time alone.

Lots of people ask me, “What are you running from?”

I prefer to think, “What am I running to?” And in most cases, that thing is a finish line, but I’ve been working on a running project for the last two years without a defined finish line. Since starting to take running seriously in 2014, it was the thrill of the competition that kept me motivated. 

Shelter in place

The highlight of 2019 was running my first 100 miler; the Capes 100. It took me over 34 hours, on an injured foot, but I did it and was eager to do it again.

In March 2020, the world stopped. I lived in the country, isolated from the world with lots of space to train and nothing else to do. In April of that year, the race was postponed to the following summer and by the time summer officially hit, I lost my interest in running.

Without a finish to run to, I had no reason to run. The summer felt long that year. I was tired. I felt lazy. When September 1st rolled around I decided to start a streak.

In the lead up to Capes in 2019, I had a daily streak which ended after the race. In total, I ran 230 days. My goal when I started was to simply have a really long streak.

The rules

For this attempt, I kept the goal and the rules very simple:

·  Run everyday until I can’t.

·  Run outside

·  Run at least 5km*

I wasn’t trying to outdo myself or prove something to someone or really accomplish a goal. Running everyday is a meditation, a challenge and a motivation to keep going. 

The secret

Many people ask me how I’m able to do it. I don’t know. There are many days where I put in the absolute minimum, go home and try not to think about running. That said, I have a few secrets I’ll share.

For any running habit you try to establish, the most important thing is you need to want to run. If you don’t want to run and you’re not willing to commit to it, don’t. Running is an inclusive sport with a totally supportive community, but it’s not for everyone and that’s okay! There are lots of other sports and activities to participate in.

Once I committed to the streak, running became a non-negotiable for me. I stopped trying to fit runs into my day and started scheduling my day around runs. Keeping my schedule organized and prioritizing my runs is key.

Most of all, it is the support and encouragement I get from anyone who knows about the streak. Running can be an extremely lonely sport and without those kind words, I don’t think I could do it.

Keep going?

The streak has meant so much to me for so long. I can’t think of anything I’ve done that many days in a row and maybe it’s a good time to reinvent myself and do something else.

So, will I keep going?

Yes! Of course, I’ll keep going! The rule was to go everyday until I can’t.

Tomorrow when I wake up my body will be tired, some muscles will be sore, and I’ll ask myself if I really want to keep doing this. Then I’ll think about all the people who can’t run. There was a time when I was someone who couldn’t do it, when walking was a struggle.

So, until I no longer can, I will.

*In full transparency, I don’t know if I’ve accomplished this. August 14, 2022 was the second day of the Capes 100. I dropped out of that race sometime well after midnight, so I did run outside, but I have no idea if I achieved 5km. It’s more likely that I ran 3-4km. Regardless, I definitely ran outside on the day and finished 94km of that race. Let’s call that even.