I started running every day on August 16th 2016. I had just gotten a new watch but had already run the day before, so normally I’d take days off. Wanting to test my new toy I ran a successive day and just never stopped. Coming up on 7 years now, 2515 days.
It’s been transformative, to say the least. And I have run at weird places and weird times to get that run in, but so far neither fatherhood nor covid have made me lose the streak.
Listening to your body and doing plenty of slow and short runs is essential to staying injury free, and I would recommend working up to it.
Biggest benefit, it requires no discipline and motivating to do once there is a habit and a streak counter. It’s like brushing teeth, just something that happens, no matter what (pouring rain, ice, after a long day, whatever).
Who else is doing this and what have been your experiences?
I tried that back when I was only getting into running. If I recall correctly, I kept it up for a little over a week before I overloaded my achilles heel and had to stop running for a month. Since then, I’m only doing occasional shorter streaks, e.g. when on organized runners’ camp or retreats.
Running every second day is easier for logistics, especially the laundry! :)
That’s an amazing streak. Congrats on keeping it going!
Streak running was exactly what got me over my initial barrier back when I was struggling with recurring injuries in beginner-level marathon training plans. I think the consistency of those easy runs really built up a foundation for more focused training in a way that the on/off schedules couldn’t. I dropped the initial streak just before finishing a full year, but I have a feeling I’ll circle back eventually when I’m running just to stay active instead of training for specific events.
