8 Motivating Reasons to Start Your Own Run Streak

Holly Rentschler / Stay-at-home mom / Sioux Falls, South Dakota

My father has been a runner since I was tiny. A couple years ago, he introduced me to the concept of a run streak when he was doing one over the holidays. I started doing the Memorial Day to Fourth of July Runner’s World streak in 2017, and after the Fourth, I just kept going. Running every day is therapeutic.

Even if it’s just that one mile and I don’t want to do it, it always has a positive effect on my psyche. I like the commitment—the fact that you get up every day knowing you’re going to run. A lot of times people will start an exercise regimen, but life gets in the way and it’s easy to make an excuse, like, “Oh, I’ve got too much going on, I’ll just do it tomorrow.” With a streak, it keeps you accountable, it keeps you consistent.

It’s cool to see how the streak has rubbed off on my kids. There are days when my 7-year-old daughter will say, “Do you have to run today?” and I’ll tell her, “I’m a mom 24 hours a day; this is the one thing I do for me.” But I know she’s proud because I’ll overhear her playing Barbies and hear her make one of them say, “Oh, I’m run streaking.” —As told to Caitlin Giddings

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Sean Nakamura / Director of IT operations / San Diego

I started running events during my streak to get excited about a goal and measure my progress—and so I wasn’t just running in the same area every day.

My whole life, my dad told me, “You could be a great sprinter, but you weren’t built to be a distance runner.” So when I ran my first half marathon, it was a very emotional experience—I knew I’d be making him so proud. And I realized the things I’ve been told are not necessarily the case. —Mark Hay

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Alice Burch / Ran 60 marathons in 60 days, world record for longest documented marathon streak / Southampton, U.K.

When Alice Burch saw a news item in 2014 about a woman who ran 53 marathons in 53 days, her brain lit up. “I’d like to do that,” she thought. She had started running years earlier to lose weight, and was hooked on the sport, competing in marathons and ultras. And holding a Guinness World Record was on her bucket list. So in 2015, she took on the goal of completing 60 marathons in 60 days.

She secured a track to run on, took time off her job as a lawyer, and lined up verification with the Guinness World Records committee. Every day, she ran 26.2 miles. Aside from a few races, that meant 105.5 verified laps around her track. Each marathon took her between 4:17 and 10 hours. “I had planned to run the marathon in one chunk, but this changed to marathon distance within a day,” she says. “There were about five days where it took me extra hours as I was battling with leg niggles.”

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Beyond fatigue, Burch says the biggest challenge was the emotional drain. Logistical hurdles, like still needing to take her daughter to and from school and wrangling the witnesses she needed to prove the record, took their toll. “I had no social life,” she says. “I found myself falling asleep on my daughter’s bedroom floor many nights.”

Burch is already planning her next record attempt: most miles run on a treadmill in seven days. “This feels even more epic, as it combines speed and distance,” she says, adding that her target will be 75 miles per day. —Taylor Rojek

Ed Gildersleeve / Insurance claims training team manager / Phoenix

Marching band was the most athletic thing I’d done growing up. But in 2012, I was 39 years old, and my doctor said you’re getting older, and your blood pressure is high enough to someday put you in a hospital. So I started a couch to 5K program. I did my first marathon in 2014.

A friend challenged me to do a 120-day run streak in 2016. I wasn’t running that regularly, and I wanted to teach myself some discipline.

For extra motivation I dedicated my streak to Make-a-Wish Arizona and donated a dollar for every mile I ran. I’ve also run two 100-milers to raise money for them. At this point I’ve raised $14,000 for the organization.

I call running my adult time-out. I put my phone in Do Not Disturb and just go. It has helped me work through some serious things—evolutions in my work life, personal stress, relationship changes, deaths and sicknesses in my immediate family—and happy stuff, too, like new adventures and discovering new things about myself.

The biggest thing I’ve learned to do is identify and accept what I can’t do about my problems. I can’t change whether it’s windy or cold or rainy outside when I run; that’s something I just have to embrace and work through. —Caitlin Giddings

Marissa Zoda / Flight attendant / Dallas

I’ve been a flight attendant for 28 years, and my job takes me all over the world. Before I go somewhere, I always investigate where to run. Since my streak started last year, I’ve run in 21 states, in 12 countries—U.S., Peru, China, Thailand, Mexico, Canada, Iceland, Italy, England, the Netherlands, Chile, and Brazil—and on four continents.

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I’ve been able to see so much just because I’m forcing myself to get out there. In L.A., I took an Uber to Manhattan Beach to run. In Hawaii, I ran to Manila Falls. I’m motivated to find that one place to run that might intrigue someone else to either run or travel to wherever I have been. —Caitlin Giddings

Karla Hernandez / Assistant director, McNair Scholars Program at the University of Nevada / Reno, Nevada

“Do not dismiss shorter distances. What keeps a streak alive are those early and, sometimes, very late night one-milers—the short runs we fit into our hectic schedules. Streaking does not require running very fast or very long!”

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Johanna Leverette / Homemaker / Winter Haven, Florida

My first streak didn’t work out that well. On every run, I felt like I had to do better than the previous one. So I was always going out fast, and trying to beat my time, and trying to do more miles. That streak went on for over 300 days, but eventually I burned out.

So I took a break and decided to try again. This time around, it’s been so much better. I’ve learned how to recover. On rest days, I run a mile as slow as possible and stretch my legs. I make it a habit to foam-roll after I finish a run, concentrating on the areas that are bugging me. I also find that icing my legs works well when I’ve run more that five miles. My legs feel great the next day. —Taylor Rojek

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Olivia Frempong / Social Worker / Rensselaer, New York

In 2013, I went to the doctor for a physical, and my blood pressure was elevated. My parents and several family members are on blood pressure medication, and I’ve known people that died from high blood pressure complications.

My doctor wanted to put me on medication. So I took the script and stared at it for a week. Then I made the decision: “I’m not going to fill this—I’m going to take care of this issue on my own.”

I decided to start running. So I ran for half a block, and went a little farther every day. And I fell in love. I went back to the doctor’s office just two months later and my blood pressure was normal. I framed that script. Now, I’ve done five full marathons.

In 2017, I was taking a year off marathons for more balance in my life. I told a friend I was going to do the fall Runner’s World Run Streak. She said she’d do it with me. Knowing that I had another run sister who was doing the same thing really helped it stick. We got through New Year’s Day and just kept going. We were hooked.

As of 2021, I’m over 1,250 days into my run streak. I’m going to keep going as long as I can. The run streak has turned me into a running monster. I’m a beast now, thanks to my streak!

I want to help other people get out there, too. Three years ago, I helped start an Albany chapter of Black Girls Run, a nationwide organization that aims to bring awareness to heart disease and diabetes, issues prevalent in African American women. We currently have close to 700 runners. On a daily basis, I send out encouraging messages to get people moving, even if it’s just a walk down the block. I’ve gotten so many of my friends to start running. I want to inspire others—that’s my passion. —Caitlin Giddings