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Streaking Runners in Perspective

If consistency in running is the key to long-term success, does that mean that having a running streak of never missing a day is the logical conclusion? For almost everyone, no. There are some injuries and non-running conditions and situations where squeezing in a token run shows you’ve lost sight of the big picture. I have a good friend who has run at least 2 miles every day since August 1982, and even he would tell you there have been times an injury would have healed much faster if he had broken his streak.

: Joel wolpert

That said, there’s much to be learned from streakers. They always find a way to get it done, showing that the “I don’t have time” excuse is usually bunk. And for most of them, their seeming fanaticism has a built-in moderation: You don’t run every day for twenty years unless you’re really good at reading your body and taking a long-term view. My friend the streaker has run a 2:15 marathon, so it’s hard to say that running every day kept from reaching his potential.

I’ve had a few sizable streaks, the longest one being a bit more than six years. My favorite one wasn’t the longest. It was a recent one of more than two years that I ended when a calf problem wasn’t improving. I liked that streak because it just sort of happened organically—in those two years there wasn’t a day when I was injured or sick enough not to feel like running.