A hearty congratulations to Jon Simpson who recently celebrated  a running streak of forty years. Mr. Simpson is a big dog in the world of running streaks, only six other people in the United States have run everyday for forty years. It’s a serious feat.

 

I’m a bit of a run streaker myself, at my longest I went 114 days straight, covering 536 miles in the process. That was right when I started taking running seriously in early 2010. Eventually, I got the flu and took two days off. Then I started running again. I’ve had other streaks since then, some as long as sixty days, but they’ve all ended for one reason or another. I got sick, I got injured, or I got bored.

 

I’ll never run for forty years straight. Honestly, I don’t have any desire to. I do understand the appeal. There is something life affirming and calming about lacing up the shoes every day. For me, streaking is about being consistent with my running, but it is also exerting control over me and my time. If I am dedicated to making the time for running, then the time appears and I can eek out twenty minutes for myself. I think for those of use with control issues, it can be a good outlet. It’s definitely something I enjoy and I hope to one day break that 114 personal best.

 

Whether or not it is good for your running is another question. Besides Ron Hill, I know of no elite runners who are also running streakers. Running through a serious injury can only prolong the recovery. But for some, running is about more than being fast, it is about getting out there and exploring, for an eccentric few, it is about getting out there and doing those things everyday.

Here’s to Jon Simpson, good running, sir.