STREAK RUNNERS INTERNATIONAL UNITED STATES RUNNING STREAK ASSOCIATION

THE STREAK REGISTRY

SWEDEN PASSES U.K. AND CANADA FOR 2ND MOST STREAK RUNNERS IN THE WORLD

Ellen Westfelt - Sweden’s top streak runner.

VOLUME TWENTY NUMBER FOUR

WINTER 2020-2021

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THE STREAK REGISTRY Winter 2020-2021 – 80th ISSUE

Dawn Strumsky John Strumsky Founders Emeritus Millersville, Maryland George A. Hancock Honorary Founder Windber, Pennsylvania Robert C. Ray Chairperson Emeritus Baltimore, Maryland Steve Morrow Vice President, Webmaster Eagle Lake, Minnesota Diane Washburne Treasurer Mendham, New Jersey Julie Maxwell Chair Retired Female Kasson, Minnesota Mark Covert Chair Retired Male Lancaster, California Barbara S. Latta Chair Active Female Raleigh, North Carolina Jon Sutherland Chair Active Male West Hills, California Mike Johnson Assistant Webmaster Daphne, Alabama John I. Watts Chaplain Nampa, Idaho Board Members Stephen W. DeBoer Rochester, Minnesota Geza Feld Farmingdale, New York Robert R. Kraft Miami Beach, Florida

Mark Washburne President Mendham, New Jersey Table of Contents Streaking Anniv. p. 2 Ellen Westfelt p. 4 Scott Ludwig p. 6 Dave Dial p. 9 Traversing the Tundra By: Steve DeBoer p. 13 Trends Since 31 Dec 17 By: Roger Urbancsik p. 18 Member Updates Eric Thompson p. 26 Amy Woulfe p. 26 Mike Pennington p. 26 Iain Hickman p. 27 Gali Medyna p. 28 Bryan Niebanck p. 28 Michael Friedl p. 29 Sebastian Szyjka p. 29 Deborah Johnson p. 29 Jemal Swobada p. 30 Theresa Mazzaro-Flora p. 30 Urska Ivanus p. 30 John Wolff p. 30 Kylyn Swatsenbarg p. 31 Bill Howe p. 31 Anders Hauser p. 32 Bryan Sears p. 32 Angela Dutcher p. 32 Emma Trump p. 32 Sam Bays p. 33 Bob McLeod p. 33 Deb Brassfield p. 33 Mike Crowder p. 33 Aga Carlsson p. 33 Eugena Watson p. 34 Monica Johansson p. 34 Grant Woodman p. 34 Jon Asphjell p. 35 Heinz Kabutz p. 35 Jennie Ossentjuk p. 36 Anthony Horyna p. 36 Jonathan Howse p. 37 Clarissa Nesmith p. 37 Karen Tyler p. 37 Edmund Liu p. 37 Derrick Spafford p. 38 Jennifer Walt p. 38 Sarah Berthag Ljones p. 39 Natasha Peoples p. 39 Henrik Einarson p. 39 V. Heise-Rotenburg p. 40

Shandra Stout p. 40 Robert Crosby p. 40 Kevin Burmaster p. 41 Bill Shires p. 41 Alex Polasek p. 41 Brenda Lepich p. 42 Doug Campbell p. 42 Ed Seaman p. 42 Kaye Krueger p. 42 Robert Barkovitz p. 42 Jon Leiding p. 43 Terrence Toolen p. 43 John Williams p. 43 Ben Timbers p. 45 Doug Deats p. 45 Steve Scales p. 45 Kelly Nelson p. 45 Nick Caperna p. 45 Dan Pereira p. 46 Matthew Montain p. 46 Neal Gifford p. 46 Thomas Cosgrove p. 47 Simon Laporte p. 47 Mary Chardavoyne p. 47 Ken Brown p. 47 Alan Foulds p. 48 Jeff Thomas p. 48 Tony Rolof p. 48 Michael Raples p. 49 June Kieu-Van Bui p. 49 Meriann Boxall p. 50 Pamela Schramke p. 51 Andrea Zmaj p. 51 Bonnie Dye p. 52 Chad Shildon p. 52 Heather Hysell p. 52 Diane Gagnon p. 53 Lisa Crandall p. 53 Diane Peterson p. 53 Derek Long p. 54 Holly Elgin p. 54 Tara Humble p. 55 Anna Kendrick p. 55 Lise Massey p. 56 Carrie Chisholm p. 56 Kurt Weissgerber p. 56 Jeff McKnight p. 56 Johanna Leverette p. 57 Eryn Sinclair p. 57 World Active p. 58 World Retired p. 92 SRI Online p. 107 The Finish Line Mark Washburne p. 108

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STREAKING ANNIVERSARIES From The Legends to The Coverts (45th anniversary) Simon Laporte 1975-11-10 Notre-Dame des Prairies, Québec, CA Charles W Hodge 1975-11-27 Eagle Point, OR, US From The Masters to The Grand Masters (35th anniversary) Milton Magness 1985-09-22 Houston, TX, US Matthew M. Mace 1985-09-29 Arnold, MD, US Kenneth D. Brown 1985-11-10 Huntington, WV, US Judy Mick 1985-11-20 Roanoke, VA, US From The Dominators to The Masters (30th anniversary) John Wolff 1990-09-01 Bonita Springs, FL, US Jerry Caine 1990-10-02 Santa Rosa, CA, US Daniel Pereira 1990-11-05 Portland, OR, US From The Proficient to The Experienced (10th anniversary) Joe T Paull 2010-09-03 Columbus, GA, US Addison Sullivan 2010-09-04 Brooksville, FL, US Richard Anderson 2010-10-10 Unley, AU Zlatko Seremet 2010-10-16 Grafenau, DE Chad Shilson 2010-11-14 Maple Grove, MN, US From The Neophytes to The Proficient (5th anniversary) Steven Nielsen 2015-09-05 Farsoe, DK Scott Lowery 2015-09-08 Greer, SC, US Bob L Mcleod 2015-09-15 Calgary, Alberta, CA Reza Adhitya Saputra 2015-09-18 Waterloo, Ontario, CA Donald Bennett 2015-09-26 Cleveland, TN, US Scott Devereux 2015-09-27 Groby Leicester, Leicestershire, GB Annette Rapp 2015-09-27 Santee, CA, US Paul Russo 2015-10-02 Brooklyn, NY, US Christopher Herman 2015-10-04 Avon, NY, US Marga Roffel 2015-10-08 Wijchen, Gelderland, NL Ken Carmel 2015-10-11 Lake Rinkinkoma, NY, US Gerard Eldering 2015-10-11 Herndon, VA, US Lew Harter 2015-10-13 El Dorado, KS, US Jost Meyer 2015-10-16 Rafz, Zürich, CH Bridget Fox 2015-10-17 Takoma Park, MD, US V. von Heise-Rotenburg 2015-10-18 Vaterstetten, DE Katie Wojnoonski 2015-10-20 San Leandro, CA, US Julia Darlington 2015-10-23 Hillesheim, DE Jamie E. Kreider 2015-10-24 Longmont, CO, US Angela Bloss 2015-10-26 Champlin, MN, US Kelly Rose Nelson 2015-10-28 Kasson, MN, US Mia Strand 2015-10-29 Gothenburg, Västra Frölunda, SE Betsey Goering 2015-10-30 Wichita, KS, US Anthony Carlton Pangle 2015-10-31 Stephens City, VA, US

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Whitney Rinella 2015-10-31 Lynchburg, VA, US Anne Treadwell 2015-11-01 Burlington, VT, US Elizabeth Gilman 2015-11-01 Byron, MN, US Valor Foy Jones 2015-11-02 Newport News, VA, US Christie Jacobs 2015-11-05 Lewisburg, TN, US Alan E Foulds 2015-11-08 Reading, MA, US Matthew Montain 2015-11-11 Centerville, MN, US Jeff Thomas 2015-11-11 Concord, NC, US Matt Millard 2015-11-13 Altoona, IA, US Ben Jacob Warrington 2015-11-17 Millsboro, DE, US Zak Novitske 2015-11-18 Hayes, VA, US Leslie Anne Dupuy 2015-11-19 Conroe, TX, US Krista Freitag 2015-11-24 Chesapeake, VA, US Chris Nicolaides 2015-11-24 Midlothian, VA, US Rebecca A Biesbrouck 2015-11-25 Mishawaka, IN, US Christopher Chadwick 2015-11-25 Reno, NV, US Anna Axelson 2015-11-26 Detroit, MI, US Corey Tanner 2015-11-26 Decatur, GA, US Stacy L Bussiere 2015-11-26 Chassell, MI, US William Rogers, Jr. 2015-11-26 Carrollton, GA, US Ranjan Rohatgi 2015-11-26 South Bend, IN, US Shiva Zanoli 2015-11-26 Hilversum, NL Amy Jensen 2015-11-26 Gretna, NE, US Ellen Kendall 2015-11-26 St. Louis Park, MN, US Eryn Sinclair 2015-11-26 Fanwood, NJ, US Allison Nicole VanLoon 2015-11-26 New Brighton, MN, US Allison Bright Rose 2015-11-26 Woodland, CA, US Taylor B Krauss 2015-11-28 Seattle, WA, US Glenn E. Csontos 2015-11-28 Lutz, FL, US Daile Sipple 2015-11-30 Perth, GB Melissa M Heenan 2015-12-01 Lovettsville, VA, US Brie Ann McSherry 2015-12-01 Woodbury, MN, US David Greenwood 2015-12-01 Auckland, Auckland, NZ Victor Thompson 2015-12-01 Halesowen, GB __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reprinted with permission from artist Dan Piraro.

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Ellen Westfelt

MEET ELLEN WESTFELT – SWEDEN’S TOP STREAK RUNNER

By: Ellen Westfelt

I’m a 42-year old mother of two, and I work as an ultrarunning coach in Sweden and internationally at the Ultrarunning Academy (ultrarunningacademy.com). I love big challenges and I’ve finished many tough ultra trail races, e.g. the UTMB, Le Diagonale des Fous and recently a 200-mile race in Sweden called Halland Ultra Beach Trail. I’ve never been keen on fighting for top positions, however, I love the adventure and the personal experience of racing — as well as managing equipment, energy, hydration and mental games in the best way possible. I have been on a consecutive running streak for the past 7 years and, a bit surprisingly, I think that my running streak is an excellent foundation for ultrarunning training. The reason for why I started my running streak was because I found myself getting performance anxiety around racing. To me, exercise had always been something positive and fun and I didn’t like how my thoughts started to take the fun out of running. So I came up with the idea of limiting myself to only running 20 minutes per day. If I managed to jog for 20 minutes a day, it would mean that I had fulfilled my daily training dose. And for it to work, it was important that I run every day. When running every day, I wouldn’t have the choice not to run, and therefore in a strange way decreasing the risk of getting anxious about missing out on training.

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On September 4th 2013 I started my Runstreak. From the beginning, I didn't allow myself to run for more than 20 minutes. 20 minutes slow jog, nothing more. And I celebrated every day, every completed 20-minute session was celebrated with great satisfaction. I had passed the task! I used this strategy for about a month before I allowed myself to run a little longer. What was strange was that as soon as I had set up the framework for what my training would look like — 20 minutes a day — my performance anxiety disappeared. Sure, sometimes it was tough enough to even get that short session in, but once I did, the task was completed and just accomplishing it was enough. I advocate that you set a goal for 20 minutes of running per day, instead of 1 mile. Of course, you have to complete 1 mile per day during this time as well, but when you run for 20 minutes, you almost always complete 1 mile with ease. The reason for my 20-minute rule is that I want to avoid running too fast — I wouldn’t like to be tempted to run my mile as fast as possible, just because I was in a hurry. The time span of 20 minutes is always the same, no matter how fast you run. To me, this is an important aspect since the main reason for my running streak is to feel more relaxed and at peace with myself and my running — without judgement and thoughts about "good or bad." Since then, I have continued racing every now and then, and I also do some complementary training (e.g. yoga, strength training, hiking etc.), but the foundation for my training is still my running streak. When I started my running streak, I didn’t know any other Swedes that were running every day. My husband and I run an ultrarunning community and company called Pace on Earth (www.paceonearth.se), and since we have a rather big following on social media, many runners soon got inspired by my running streak. During the first years, there were a few people that tried the concept, and some of them are still running, but lately the interest for runstreak in Sweden has grown quite a lot. Every January, for the past three years, we’ve arranged a runstreak challenge on Facebook, where we have invited runners to try out the concept. During this month, I have been the mentor in this group, posting live videos every day and discussing different topics related to running every day. In the challenge we’ve had 500-800 participants every year and many have kept on running beyond the first month. We sell T-shirts and headovers with the text “I’m on a #runstreak.” https://paceonearth.runon.se/sv/runstreak-klader We also manage a big Facebook group called Runstreak Sverige (Runstreak Sweden) https://www.facebook.com/groups/runstreaksverige/, which currently has almost 4000 members. Not everyone has an active running streak at the moment, but most of our members do. Many start over again and again after having had to stop for some reason — injury, sickness or just everyday life getting in the way. We advocate that being on a runstreak is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, much more than trying to hit a big number of days in a row. It’s better to start over than to risk health. We believe that the concept of runstreak is a great way to get into healthy habits and many people who love being on a runstreak are people who have hated running in the past. The idea of running for a short time every day makes you feel free and happy, and it helps get rid of performance anxiety. In 2019, one of our Swedish runstreakers Daniel Karlsson published a book about Runstreak, where I have written a chapter about my runstreak as well. The book was very well received. https://shop.whipmedia.se/produkt/runstreak/ Both Daniel Karlsson and I have been invited to a lot of podcasts, radio- and tv-shows to talk about our runstreaks and this too has made people aware of the concept. I hope that many more will understand the beauty of running for a short time every day, as the foundation for a healthy lifestyle!

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Left to right: Keith Kettrey, Al Barker, Antonio Parks, Krischan Ellis-Ludwig (Scott’s grandson), Normer Adams, Scott Ludwig, Valerie Howard Greer, and Kristin Powell. Dogs are (L-R) Amber, Marley.

Sole Searching

By: Scott Ludwig My nature has always been to overdo it; running proved to be no exception. I’ve been trying to ease up on my running for as long as I can remember. Until recently – 42 years later – I didn’t have any success. I failed, too many times to count. But after all that time, I believe that’s finally about to change. In fact, I’m almost certain of it. *** My son Josh was in third grade when he said to my good friend Al that when he grew up, he wanted to be ‘just like dad.’ It was the gift that keeps on giving; I never lost sight of those words spoken from the heart of an eight-year old boy. I remind Al to this day how much I appreciated him for telling me.

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Those words inspired me to be the best runner I possibly could. I began training harder than ever before - running further and faster year after year – and became good enough to earn a spot on the prestigious Atlanta Track Club’s Masters Men’s team. Josh, a runner as well, ran his first race at the age of six. Over the years, he and I ran more than 140 races together and I’ll be the first to admit: he made an appearance at the awards’ ceremony considerably more often than his dear old dad. Although I didn’t have Josh’s natural talent, I found a way to finish every major race on my bucket list – not so much for myself, but rather so that one day Josh would have stories to tell children of his own about their grandfather. The year I turned 40, I started a tradition I thought would make for an interesting addition to Josh’s repertoire of tales: I would run my age in miles on my birthday every five years. Forty miles at 40, 45 at 45, 50 at 50 and so on. Josh told me he wanted to carry on the tradition, just like dad. Only in his case, he wanted to start his tradition when he turned 35. *** Addiction is a terrible thing. I understand addiction, at least a little. Mine has always been running: I could never seem to run enough miles. While it’s not the healthiest addiction in the world, it pales in comparison to the addiction that terrorized my son for years; an addiction he ultimately paid for with his life. *** I honestly thought I’d cut back on my running when I reached various milestones: 100 marathons; 100,000 miles; 200 marathons; 150,000 miles. But nothing did the trick; instead, I kept raising the ante. I ran 60 miles when I turned 60; several months later I ran for 60 hours. Straight. I just couldn’t let go of the words spoken a long time ago by an eight-year old boy: ‘I want to be just like dad.’ *** I’ve always run for the same reasons as most everyone else: health, fitness, camaraderie, competition, peace of mind. But the fact that I truly enjoyed it kept me going more than anything else. Or so I thought. Recently I noticed I wasn’t looking forward to my runs like I once did. I wasn’t running nearly as well as before. Something had changed, but I didn’t know what. Then one day I looked closely at my running log and it was very clear: my life as a runner ended on March 27, 2020 – the day Josh succumbed to a drug overdose. After some serious soul searching, it dawned on me that the reason I continued to push myself to the brink of exhaustion – day after day – was to make Josh proud. Josh, a runner himself, understood and appreciated what it took to put in countless hours and endless miles on the road. I always hoped that one day, he would be able to pass along the stories of our running adventures to his children; to keep our memories alive. But suddenly Josh was gone. There would be no children to hear the stories about a father, a son and the sport they both loved. When Josh died – something I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to say out loud – something inside of me died as well.

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It wasn’t until October 21, 2020 – Josh’s birthday – I did what I felt I had to do to put my life as a runner to rest. Although it had only been seven months since he was gone, it felt like I’d aged 20 years. It was time. *** On the day Josh would have turned 35, two close friends joined me in running 35 miles in his memory. I know in my heart that Josh would have run them with us, if only he could. He told me so a long time ago, back when he was still a little boy. When he wanted to be just like dad. Many others – several friends, many others I’ve never met - joined us throughout the day and ran a few miles in Josh’s memory; many more did so virtually - all over the world. Together, we ran enough miles to get us from one side of the country to the other - and halfway back again. I’ve written – many times, in fact – that runners are some of the finest people I know. On Josh’s special day, they proved me right. *** My wife and I received many wonderful messages of sympathy and support throughout the day. While I would love to be able to present all of them, I only have space for one:

I carried Josh in my thoughts on this morning’s run. When I got home to my chronically cranky son, I about lost it.

But then we got our first snowflakes of the season – I am taking this as a sign from Josh to lighten up and be grateful, despite how challenging parenthood can be.

Sending love and light.

I can’t thank you enough, Jillian Farland. *** I purposely wasn’t counting my mileage this year, hoping it would help me to cut back. After running on Josh’s 35th birthday, I totaled the daily entries in that running log I mentioned earlier and discovered my lifetime mileage was now up to 157,799. I couldn’t help but think that Josh would see the humor in that, because he knew how much I liked round, even numbers. I accepted the number as a sign; a sign that Josh was looking out for me and saying ‘It’s OK, dad; you can rest now.’ May you rest in peace, son. We’ll run together one day; of this I am sure.

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Dave Dial and Bill Rodgers

RUNNING WITH BILL RODGERS – “THE KING OF THE ROADS”

By: Dave Dial

Since this tale transpired over the course of forty plus years, I feel borrowing an excerpt from the introductory script of the Steve Prefontaine movie 'Without Limits' is appropriate. Namely, "Like Plato and his tale of the world's creation, I won't say absolutely this is the truth but I will say, it is a likely story..." I traded several emails this past summer with the legendary Bill Rodgers that pertained not to my lifetime running mileage total but to his. Regressing a moment, I first met Bill in 1978 at age 17 when my parents rewarded me with a trip to Boston as my high school graduation present. After having read about the recently opened Bill Rodgers Running Center, on the Boston Marathon course no less, aspiring teen distance runner that I was, my desire to meet my running hero made Beantown my clear choice in terms of a destination. On June 2, 1978 I walked into Bill Rodgers Running Center for the first time and no more than ten minutes later, the store's namesake arrived. I introduced myself, asked if I could go for a run with him and wound up running with Bill twice daily during the week I was in Boston, logging 153 miles.

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Bill and I have stayed in touch over the years and I've even worked at Bill Rodgers Running Center, up to and through the week of the 2012 Boston Marathon, only months prior to the store closing for good. When I logged my 100,000th mile in April 1998, I let Bill know the good news. He sent me a congratulatory letter, stating we should form a 100k "Club.”

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During the ensuing years, I learned Bill had a ballpark figure in mind but wasn't sure exactly how many miles he'd run because he hadn't totalled his log books. Then, a decade or so ago I read where someone asked and he responded he'd run about the same amount as Frank Shorter; somewhere around 150,000 at that point. In 2019, as I approached 200k, each time I'd give Bill an update he'd say that "one of these days" he was going to go through his logs and total his mileage. I can't tell you how many times he said that to me, so many in fact that I once, knowing how often he travels by plane to running events, suggested he bring a log(s) and do some inflight tallying. His response, avid reader that he is, was that his air travel served as prime reading time! Early in 2020 when the pandemic began resulting in race cancellations, Bill used his otherwise travel time to begin revisiting his logs and in early June I began receiving emails from him, the first one reading in part: "I just totaled 102,000 miles for my 1st 21 years or so Dave. I don't think I'll hit 200,000...really dropped off as I got older; am at age 46 or 47 now." A couple of weeks later, I received an update: "I'm at 171k Dave and have '17, '18, and '19 to go plus my HS and college running; which wasn't high mileage (never hit 100 miles a week in college). Think I'll be at 180k or...something to aim for!" I responded that he had me looking over my shoulder which prompted him to write back: "I think it'll be awhile if ever I hit 200k but I won't be too far behind!" Days after that: "I ended at 178,000 Dave...but haven't included my 3 years of low key HS running and 4 years in college...maybe those years would add up to 5000 miles..." Near mid-July he sent the final update: "I got 185,000 Dave....don't know if I'll get to 200k.” Now I have to see how Joan (Samuelson, '84 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist) is doing. Of course she's only 63 in May and has had a drawn out marathon career; so must be near me or you! In late December 2020 Bill Rodgers will turn 73 years young and, in my mind, the once upon a time "King of the Roads" is still just that and I have no doubt about his reaching 200k, and then some, "one of these days!" While Bill Rodgers Running Center closed years ago, the store's website is still operational: www.billrodgersrunningcenter.com

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Among other things, a transcription of Bill's 1974 log can be found on the website. From a historic standpoint, '74 was the buildup year to Bill’s emergence as a World Class runner in early 1975 when he placed 3rd in the World Cross Country Championships and shortly thereafter ran an American Record 2:09:55 for the marathon in his first of four Boston wins. On a personal note, I recently extended my running streak to 13 years and have now logged 205k plus miles.

Bill Rodgers and Dave Dial

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Traversing the Tundra – Lunar Option Revisited By: Steve DeBoer

Long-time streak runners have accumulated an impressive number of life time running miles, as can be seen in the Spring 2020 issue of The Streak Registry, entitled “The 70,000 Mile Club” (and will be updated in the Spring 2021 issue). The mention of having run the equivalent of once around the world at the equator (24,902 miles) elicits responses of “Amazing!” or “Incredible!” from our non-runner friends and acquaintances. But to those of us who have been running at least 20 years, a more envied goal is to have traversed 100,000 miles of tundra. Among the almost 3500 individuals who have certified active and/or retired running streaks, over 90 have run more than 100,000 miles in their lifetime. For those looking for a greater challenge, the next round figure is 200,000 miles. Has anyone in the past run that many miles? Unfortunately, we don’t have written records of the mileage of most of the individuals listed below, but here is speculation about their total mileage. Charles Walter (Charlie) Hart, b. 1866 – d. Sep. 11, 1954. Claims over 750,000 miles. If he ran 40 years at 4,000 miles/year and 15 years at 3,000, he would have run 205,000. He did not run long distance the first 10 years of his career, begun in 1883, so if he did 15,000 those 10 years, total would be about 220,000. Arthur F H Newton, b. May 20, 1883 – d. Sep. 7, 1959. Claims 102,735 miles by 1935. If he ran 500/month next ten years and 70/week the next 10 years, his total would be about 200,000. But back then, ultra-runners walked a significant amount of their training miles. Earl Linwood (Lin) Dilks, b. Sep. 20, 1894 – d. Nov. 8, 1982. Claims 195,855 miles by 1977. If he ran 3 more years, he might have done 200,000. Ken Baily, b. 1911 – d. Dec. 10, 1993. Claims 157,295 miles by 7-9-75. If he ran 10 more years, he might have done 180,000. Ted Corbitt, b. Jan. 31, 1919 – Dec. 12, 2007. Claims 200,000 miles, but mostly walking mileage the last 20 years, so running total under 175,000. Bill Emmerton. b. Nov. 12, 1920 – d. Jul. 10, 2010. Claims over 130,000 miles by 1978. If he ran 10 more years, he might have done 160,000. He switched to walking the last 20 years of his life. Douglas Alistair Gordon Pirie, b. Feb. 10, 1931 – d. Dec. 7, 1991. Claims 216,000 miles by 1981, over 250,000 before he died. But John Bryant, who knew him during his prime, feels that amount is inflated, whereas Jon Sutherland believed he ran 90-100 miles/week most of his adult life. Will go with 200,000, using 90 miles per week, dropping to 70 miles per week his last decade. Don Ritchie, b. Jul 6, 1944 - d. Jun 16, 2018. Scottish ultra-runner, who set world records in distances from 50K to 24 hours. He did keep records, logging 208,100 miles from 1962 to 2011. Some of these past distance runners kept records of their running mileage, but I have not been able to find a record anywhere of it being listed for public review. Before anyone gets crowned the all-time running mileage champion, some sort of record review would need to be done by an unbiased group.

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Personally, I have a rather optimistic, possibly unattainable mileage goal. Even before I reached 100,000 miles, I asked myself would it be possible to run the distance to the moon? The distance from the earth to the moon is about 238,000 miles but it varies by 20,000, depending on the time of month. The perigee (closest approach to Earth) occurs 12-13 times per year. For 2020, the nearest perigee was 221,772 miles on April 7th. Keep in mind that runners are only trying to go from surface to surface, so we need to subtract the radius of each sphere (1080 miles for the moon and 3963 miles for Earth). Of course, if you started your run from Mount Everest, it would be about 6 miles shorter. That calculates out to 216,723 miles from Everest to the lunar surface if you happened to reach the moon on that day (April 7, 2020). As we know, very few human beings have traveled by spaceship to the moon and only 12 have actually walked on the surface, with Neil Armstrong being the first in 1969 and Harrison Schmitt the last in 1972. Based on my incomplete data of past distance runners, only Charlie Hart might have covered enough miles to reach the moon’s surface. However, in viewing the videotape of a 20-mile run he did at age 83, it appears he was walking towards the end, so I am a little suspect of the estimate I made of his total running mileage. So, what are my chances of making it? If, God willing, I can average 3500 miles/yr for the next 10 years, I would have about 207,000 miles at age 76. In looking over the mileage of fellow streak runners, Dr. Herb Fred is the only one who kept over 3500/yr after age 70, so I don’t know how good my odds are of duplicating that. If I could average 3000 miles/yr for the following 4 years, I would be at 217,000 before my 80th birthday. My dad stopped running at age 85 ½, so genetics may be in my favor. Then, after achieving that, I could focus on my other long-term goal, completing a marathon at age 90! Running around the earth at the equator is a goal of many high mileage runners. For me, I probably need to use all the mileage in my legs just to reach the moon, so take note I skipped the equatorial distance warmup and am heading straight to lunacy, I mean the tallest lunar crater. Streak runners who recently have or are most likely to reach the moon and when: Carolyn Mather - now 230,000; averages 7000 per year, reached the moon 2019, age 71. Craig Davison - now 215,200; averages 2500 per year, will reach moon 2021, age 68. Dave Dial - now 206,000; averages 6000 per year, will reach moon 2022, age 62. Richard Westbrook - now 211,800; averages 2500 per year, will reach moon 2022, age 75. Paul Ladniak - now 212,300; averages 1200 per year, will reach moon 2024, age 78. Roger Urbancsik - now 194,800; averages 5000 per year, will reach moon 2025, age 68. Based on their average running mileage over the last 3 years, here are other streak runners who should surpass 190,000 miles by the end of 2030: Don Slusser (will be age 79) - averaging 1500 miles per year. 197,800 end 2020 - 211,100 end 2030.

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Jon Sutherland (will be age 80) - averaging 1200 miles per year. 198,700 end 2020 - 210,700 end 2030. Bruce Mortenson (will be age 87) - averaging 2100 miles per year. 181,800 end 2020 - 202,800 end 2030. Reno Stirrat (will be age 75) - averaging 3000 miles per year. 171,500 end 2020 - 201,500 end 2030. Michael Georgi (will be age 78) - averaging 3000 miles per year. 165,600 end 2020 - 195,600 end 2030. George Brown (will be age 78) - averaging 2800 miles per year. 167,000 end 2020 - 195,000 end 2030. Scott Ludwig (will be age 76) - averaging 3500 miles per year. 158,500 end 2020 - 193,500 end 2030. Simon Laporte (will be age 79) - averaging 2500 miles per year. 166,500 end 2020 - 191,500 end 2030. Steve Morrow (will be age 67) - averaging 3000 miles per year. 161,000 end 2020 - 191,000 end 2030. Jim Pearson (will be age 86) - averaging 1400 miles per year. 178,000 end 2020 - 190,700 end 2030 Of this group, Reno Stirrat and Steve Morrow are most likely to reach the moon by age 80. There are three recent/current long-distance runners who have enough running miles to have circled the equator once before going lunar, 2 of whom are NOT streak runners. One, Dallas Robertson of Iowa, age 64, has run 227,400 miles since keeping a record of his mileage, starting in 1980. He estimates having run 20,000-25,000 miles the previous 4 years. Using the lower estimate, that puts him at over 247,000. Darryl Beardall, age 84, of California, is listed on one website in 2010 as having run nearly 300,000 miles in his lifetime. It mentioned he had averaged 20 miles, 6 days per week from 1959 to 1993, then decreased to 12-15 miles/day with a job change. Amby Burfoot met and interviewed him several years ago. He and Darryl came up with some yearly mileage estimates. Unfortunately, he has not been able to find his training logs before 2007 to verify how close those estimates are to reality. So, it has been agreed to reduce that estimated running mileage before 2007 by 10%, since we tend to estimate up rather than down. This would give Darryl about 294,000 miles, enough to have run around the earth and make it to the moon. Even if he chose to traverse the lunar tundra’s circumference once, he is now heading back to earth. After breaking his hip in January 2017, he put in a lot of miles walking/jogging with a walker and by July was back to running again. However, in April 2018, he sustained an L-4 pinched nerve and has not run since.

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That brings us to Dr. Fred, who I earlier mentioned. He kept meticulous records of his daily runs, switching to exclusively treadmill running after being hit by a car running outdoors in his mid-50s. He retired from running in October 2016, age 87, with a total running mileage was 253,010. His last daily streak ended when he was 86, the oldest documented active streak runner ever. If he ran once around the Earth before leaving our atmosphere, he would have reached the moon on February 19, 2011 and completed his run around the moon in 2013. Herb was born June 11, 1929 and died December 30, 2018. Besides the 90 of us who have surpassed 100,000 miles, almost 100 non-streakers on Amby Burfoot’s www.100klifetimemiles.com website has covered that distance while running. Broken down by state (with those who lived in more than one state getting credit for each state they lived in), there are only 7 states with at least ten. MN has 34, CA has 19, PA has 13, and MA has 12. Then come FL, NJ & NY with 10 each and OH with 9. MN is an unique outlier in this running realm, possibly because one needs to run more miles there in the winter before being warmed up. The hobby of running daily continues to grow exponentially. The current number of active and retired streaks are listed elsewhere in this issue of the Streak Registry and are constantly updated on our web site, www.runeveryday.com/ Here are the numbers over the last 20 years, since the organization was incorporated. DATE US ACTIVE US RETIRED INTERNATIONAL ACTIVE INTERNATIONAL RETIRED Mar 2001 113 16 (2001 was before the 1-mile minimum was established) Mar 2003 92 20 Mar 2005 120 30 Mar 2007 151 52 Mar 2009 220 116 Mar 2011 268 178 Mar 2013 384 260 7 (3 Canada) 3 Mar 2015 532 385 18 (5 each Can, GB, NZ) 8 Mar 2017 751 527 57 (18 GB, 14 Can, 7 NZ) 29 Mar 2019 1409 777 162 (51 GB, 44 Can, 25 SW) 64 Current Go to web site and look under Statistics (Sweden has taken the lead internationally in 2020). DATE TOP 5 States Certified Active Streak Runners in US Mar 2001 CA - 11; MD - 10; TX - 9; NY - 9; PA - 8 (before 1-mile minimum established) Mar 2003 CA - 12; MD - 9; TX - 7; NY - 6; PA & MN - 5 Mar 2005 CA - 13; MD - 10; PA - 8; TX - 7; MN - 7 Mar 2007 CA - 22; PA - 10; TX - 9; NY - 9; FL - 9 Mar 2009 CA - 26; PA - 14; TX - 14; FL - 13; MN - 12 Mar 2011 CA - 30; TX - 20; FL - 20; PA -14; MN - 10 Mar 2013 CA - 43; FL - 25; TX - 24; PA -22; MN -21 Apr 2016 CA - 57; MN - 56; TX - 46 PA - 40; FL -39 Apr 2018 MN - 81; CA - 69; TX - 63; PA - 51; FL - 50 Apr 2020 MN - 115; TX - 115; CA - 112; FL - 92; PA & NY - 85 Current Go to web site and look under Statistics (CA, TX and MN have been alternating lead in 2020)

17

Note that CA has had the most active daily runners of any state until 2015, which makes sense since they have the largest population. Though MN was in the top 5 or 6 since the US Running Streak Association was established, their population is much lower than the others at the top, except MD. For example, CA has 7 times and TX has 5 times as many individuals as MN. What makes MN’s recent lead even more amazing is the less-than-ideal weather (think WINTER!) in that state. Recently TX doubled their active number in less than 2 1/2 years, being the first state to reach 130 active in August 2020. When we look at active streak runners per million residents, MN has been #1 for most of the last 40 years. Keep in mind the rates before 2002 included some who never certified they met the 1 mile minimum. Due to their low populations, such states as WY, ND and DE only needed one person running daily to make the top 6. Top 6 States Dec 1991 Dec 1996 Dec 2001+ Dec 2006+ Dec 2011+ (# states with 37 39 36 37 45 & DC Streak runners) (Streakers per MN 3.20 MN 3.45 MN 2.84 MN 2.73 MN 2.45 Million residents) MD 2.93 MD 2.58 WY 2.02 MD 1.44 MT 2.01 WY 2.20 WY 2.11 MD 1.51 CT 1.43 VA 1.87 ND 1.57 ND 1.56 CT 1.47 IN 1.43 MO 1.83 CT 1.52 CT 1.49 DE 1.27 DE 1.19 IN 1.69 DE 1.50 DE 1.38 NE 1.17 NE 1.13 MA 1.68

• + only includes certified streakers since Dec 2001 Top 6 states Apr 2016 Apr 2020 (with all 50 states and DC represented) (Streakers MN 10.20 MN 21.49 Per Million NH 4.12 WY 13.65 Residents) VA 3.97 NH 12.77 VT 3.70 MA 9.57 WI 3.67 IA 8.96 WY 3.41 DC 8.93 PS. There are now 20 former streak runners who have passed away. Latest 3 I discovered were:

1. Jim Lindley, b. Dec 3, 1939 IN - d. Oct 3, 2018. Moorhead, MN. He ran daily from Dec 26, 1978 to Feb 3, 2008 in Fargo, ND (first streak runner identified in ND), IA and IN but never registered after the 1-mile minimum was set. He ran 454 races, including over 30 marathons, among them Boston and London. He is survived by wife, Carol, and 2 daughters.

2. Tomas Loughead, b. Jun 6, 1940 OH - d. Aug 21, 2017. Zanesville, OH. He lived and worked in Huntsville, AL, running daily from Jul 7, 1990 until about 2014.

3. Stanley J Weissman, b. Jul 6, 1940 NY - d. May 30, 2018. Hilton Head, SC. He lived and worked in New York, registering his running streak after he retired to Miami Beach, which went from Sep 30, 1993 until about 2014.

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4. USRSA/SRI

Trends Since 31 Dec 17 By Roger A. Urbancsik

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% A

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Runn

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Runners With Multiple Streaks

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Streak Days Streak Years Top 1,000 Date 1st 10th 100th 1,000th 1st 10th 100th 1,000th % Active

12/31/17 19,032 16,437 11,740 899 52.11 45.00 32.14 2.46 73.6% 1/31/18 19,032 16,437 11,813 975 52.11 45.00 32.34 2.67 74.0% 2/28/18 19,032 16,437 11,841 1,004 52.11 45.00 32.42 2.75 74.5% 3/31/18 19,032 16,437 11,872 1,044 52.11 45.00 32.50 2.86 74.9% 4/30/18 19,032 16,437 11,883 1,096 52.11 45.00 32.53 3.00 75.3% 5/31/18 19,032 16,437 11,891 1,148 52.11 45.00 32.56 3.14 76.3% 6/30/18 19,032 16,437 11,921 1,192 52.11 45.00 32.64 3.26 76.1% 7/31/18 19,032 16,437 11,952 1,233 52.11 45.00 32.72 3.38 76.3% 8/31/18 19,032 16,437 11,983 1,273 52.11 45.00 32.81 3.49 76.7% 9/30/18 19,032 16,437 12,013 1,317 52.11 45.00 32.89 3.61 77.5%

10/31/18 19,032 16,437 12,044 1,365 52.11 45.00 32.97 3.74 77.5% 11/30/18 19,032 16,437 12,074 1,418 52.11 45.00 33.06 3.88 78.6% 12/31/18 19,032 16,439 12,105 1,457 52.11 45.01 33.14 3.99 78.9% 1/31/19 19,032 16,470 12,136 1,488 52.11 45.09 33.23 4.07 79.2% 2/28/19 19,032 16,498 12,164 1,508 52.11 45.17 33.30 4.13 79.0% 3/31/19 19,032 16,587 12,195 1,548 52.11 45.41 33.39 4.24 78.8% 4/30/19 19,032 16,617 12,225 1,581 52.11 45.49 33.47 4.33 78.9% 5/31/19 19,032 16,648 12,246 1,612 52.11 45.58 33.53 4.41 78.4% 6/30/19 19,032 16,678 12,276 1,642 52.11 45.66 33.61 4.50 78.3% 7/31/19 19,032 16,709 12,307 1,674 52.11 45.75 33.69 4.58 78.2% 8/31/19 19,032 16,740 12,344 1,706 52.11 45.83 33.80 4.67 78.3% 9/30/19 19,032 16,742 12,368 1,738 52.11 45.84 33.86 4.76 78.6%

10/31/19 19,032 16,743 12,399 1,769 52.11 45.84 33.95 4.84 78.6% 11/30/19 19,032 16,773 12,429 1,797 52.11 45.92 34.03 4.92 78.8% 12/31/19 19,032 16,804 12,460 1,830 52.11 46.01 34.11 5.01 78.6% 1/31/20 19,032 16,835 12,494 1,861 52.11 46.09 34.21 5.10 78.4% 2/29/20 19,032 16,864 12,520 1,890 52.11 46.17 34.28 5.17 78.1% 3/31/20 19,032 16,895 12,551 1,926 52.11 46.26 34.36 5.27 77.9% 4/30/20 19,032 16,925 12,581 1,958 52.11 46.34 34.44 5.36 78.4% 5/31/20 19,032 16,956 12,581 1,984 52.11 46.42 34.44 5.43 78.9% 6/30/20 19,032 16,986 12,600 2,017 52.11 46.51 34.50 5.52 78.5% 7/31/20 19,032 17,017 12,630 2,057 52.11 46.59 34.58 5.63 79.0% 8/31/20 19,032 17,048 12,631 2,081 52.11 46.67 34.58 5.70 78.8% 9/30/20 19,032 17,078 12,661 2,131 52.11 46.76 34.66 5.83 78.7%

10/31/20 19,032 17,109 12,692 2,163 52.11 46.84 34.75 5.92 78.6%

23

Streaks Active Streak runners Streak Average streak Date Active Retired Total (%) Total >1 streak >1 (%) years Days Years

12/31/17 902 634 1,536 58.7% 1,363 126 9.2% 11,953 3,203 8.77 1/31/18 1,016 661 1,677 60.6% 1,497 130 8.7% 12,369 3,018 8.26 2/28/18 1,057 672 1,729 61.1% 1,547 131 8.5% 12,568 2,967 8.12 3/31/18 1,093 683 1,776 61.5% 1,592 132 8.3% 12,825 2,942 8.05 4/30/18 1,127 692 1,819 62.0% 1,631 136 8.3% 13,061 2,925 8.01 5/31/18 1,172 701 1,873 62.6% 1,684 137 8.1% 13,323 2,890 7.91 6/30/18 1,197 721 1,918 62.4% 1,727 139 8.0% 13,514 2,858 7.82 7/31/18 1,240 733 1,973 62.8% 1,777 144 8.1% 13,734 2,823 7.73 8/31/18 1,259 740 1,999 63.0% 1,798 149 8.3% 13,924 2,829 7.75 9/30/18 1,308 749 2,057 63.6% 1,853 152 8.2% 14,180 2,795 7.65

10/31/18 1,338 762 2,100 63.7% 1,894 154 8.1% 14,384 2,774 7.59 11/30/18 1,442 771 2,213 65.2% 2,003 157 7.8% 14,731 2,686 7.35 12/31/18 1,507 788 2,295 65.7% 2,082 159 7.6% 15,043 2,639 7.23 1/31/19 1,606 820 2,426 66.2% 2,206 164 7.4% 15,430 2,555 7.00 2/28/19 1,626 843 2,469 65.9% 2,247 165 7.3% 15,629 2,541 6.96 3/31/19 1,650 858 2,508 65.8% 2,283 167 7.3% 15,880 2,541 6.96 4/30/19 1,676 871 2,547 65.8% 2,319 170 7.3% 16,138 2,542 6.96 5/31/19 1,723 889 2,612 66.0% 2,382 172 7.2% 16,484 2,528 6.92 6/30/19 1,784 901 2,685 66.4% 2,455 172 7.0% 16,836 2,505 6.86 7/31/19 1,802 919 2,721 66.2% 2,490 173 6.9% 17,105 2,509 6.87 8/31/19 1,835 935 2,770 66.2% 2,535 176 6.9% 17,442 2,513 6.88 9/30/19 1,864 955 2,819 66.1% 2,580 176 6.8% 17,676 2,502 6.85

10/31/19 1,893 967 2,860 66.2% 2,616 181 6.9% 17,922 2,502 6.85 11/30/19 1,936 989 2,925 66.2% 2,679 183 6.8% 18,185 2,479 6.79 12/31/19 1,996 1,018 3,014 66.2% 2,767 184 6.6% 18,549 2,449 6.70 1/31/20 2,071 1,049 3,120 66.4% 2,868 188 6.6% 18,917 2,409 6.60 2/29/20 2,112 1,066 3,178 66.5% 2,921 193 6.6% 19,205 2,401 6.57 3/31/20 2,122 1,085 3,207 66.2% 2,947 194 6.6% 19,442 2,410 6.60 4/30/20 2,157 1,098 3,255 66.3% 2,990 200 6.7% 19,740 2,411 6.60 5/31/20 2,239 1,116 3,355 66.7% 3,086 204 6.6% 20,082 2,377 6.51 6/30/20 2,274 1,136 3,410 66.7% 3,140 204 6.5% 20,405 2,374 6.50 7/31/20 2,322 1,144 3,466 67.0% 3,195 205 6.4% 20,769 2,374 6.50 8/31/20 2,358 1,166 3,524 66.9% 3,250 208 6.4% 21,038 2,364 6.47 9/30/20 2,395 1,180 3,575 67.0% 3,296 213 6.5% 21,370 2,368 6.48

10/31/20 2,415 1,203 3,618 66.7% 3,335 217 6.5% 21,705 2,377 6.51

24

Streak Days Date 100th 200th 300th 400th 500th 600th 700th 800th 900th 1,000th

12/31/17 11,740 7,305 3,927 2,823 2,193 1,749 1,465 1,248 1,096 899 1/31/18 11,813 7,453 4,009 2,927 2,227 1,828 1,516 1,311 1,127 975 2/28/18 11,841 7,477 4,038 2,981 2,255 1,885 1,552 1,349 1,155 1,004 3/31/18 11,872 7,598 4,068 3,012 2,317 1,917 1,585 1,400 1,187 1,044 4/30/18 11,883 7,652 4,138 3,043 2,350 1,947 1,617 1,436 1,224 1,096 5/31/18 11,891 7,702 4,169 3,104 2,394 1,983 1,656 1,472 1,280 1,148 6/30/18 11,921 7,732 4,202 3,134 2,430 2,013 1,692 1,511 1,311 1,192 7/31/18 11,952 7,755 4,233 3,135 2,455 2,044 1,737 1,551 1,343 1,233 8/31/18 11,983 7,775 4,264 3,223 2,513 2,076 1,776 1,593 1,375 1,273 9/30/18 12,013 7,785 4,291 3,264 2,575 2,111 1,828 1,645 1,418 1,317

10/31/18 12,044 7,803 4,322 3,295 2,606 2,142 1,871 1,677 1,447 1,365 11/30/18 12,074 7,804 4,352 3,314 2,643 2,200 1,923 1,761 1,499 1,418 12/31/18 12,105 7,810 4,383 3,345 2,684 2,235 1,975 1,812 1,551 1,457 1/31/19 12,136 7,866 4,414 3,389 2,730 2,288 2,023 1,857 1,586 1,488 2/28/19 12,164 7,888 4,442 3,417 2,749 2,324 2,042 1,885 1,621 1,508 3/31/19 12,195 7,908 4,474 3,511 2,789 2,373 2,082 1,916 1,666 1,548 4/30/19 12,225 7,938 4,506 3,592 2,830 2,440 2,127 1,946 1,723 1,581 5/31/19 12,246 7,969 4,556 3,657 2,862 2,500 2,163 1,982 1,782 1,612 6/30/19 12,276 7,995 4,665 3,732 2,943 2,577 2,207 2,018 1,833 1,642 7/31/19 12,307 8,030 4,707 3,826 2,983 2,616 2,238 2,049 1,873 1,674 8/31/19 12,344 8,140 4,747 3,875 3,040 2,650 2,283 2,086 1,918 1,706 9/30/19 12,368 8,170 4,770 3,899 3,050 2,677 2,313 2,116 1,948 1,738

10/31/19 12,399 8,201 4,837 3,930 3,101 2,708 2,344 2,144 1,978 1,769 11/30/19 12,429 8,225 4,837 3,960 3,131 2,738 2,379 2,171 1,996 1,797 12/31/19 12,460 8,238 4,930 3,991 3,165 2,765 2,411 2,206 2,038 1,830 1/31/20 12,494 8,293 4,969 4,028 3,198 2,796 2,441 2,233 2,067 1,861 2/29/20 12,520 8,322 4,998 4,057 3,233 2,830 2,472 2,258 2,096 1,890 3/31/20 12,551 8,336 5,029 4,084 3,258 2,864 2,503 2,293 2,129 1,926 4/30/20 12,581 8,359 5,088 4,121 3,294 2,907 2,546 2,335 2,161 1,958 5/31/20 12,581 8,390 5,119 4,152 3,320 2,938 2,577 2,367 2,192 1,984 6/30/20 12,600 8,420 5,213 4,185 3,350 2,971 2,614 2,396 2,222 2,017 7/31/20 12,630 8,451 5,325 4,216 3,393 3,018 2,650 2,435 2,254 2,057 8/31/20 12,631 8,398 5,282 4,244 3,418 3,042 2,675 2,466 2,284 2,081 9/30/20 12,661 8,495 5,351 4,275 3,454 3,084 2,706 2,497 2,320 2,131

10/31/20 12,692 8,508 5,351 4,306 3,520 3,146 2,743 2,530 2,351 2,163

25

Streak Years Date 100th 200th 300th 400th 500th 600th 700th 800th 900th 1,000th

12/31/17 32.14 20.00 10.75 7.73 6.00 4.79 4.01 3.42 3.00 2.46 1/31/18 32.34 20.41 10.98 8.01 6.10 5.00 4.15 3.59 3.09 2.67 2/28/18 32.42 20.47 11.06 8.16 6.17 5.16 4.25 3.69 3.16 2.75 3/31/18 32.50 20.80 11.14 8.25 6.34 5.25 4.34 3.83 3.25 2.86 4/30/18 32.53 20.95 11.33 8.33 6.43 5.33 4.43 3.93 3.35 3.00 5/31/18 32.56 21.09 11.41 8.50 6.55 5.43 4.53 4.03 3.50 3.14 6/30/18 32.64 21.17 11.50 8.58 6.65 5.51 4.63 4.14 3.59 3.26 7/31/18 32.72 21.23 11.59 8.58 6.72 5.60 4.76 4.25 3.68 3.38 8/31/18 32.81 21.29 11.67 8.82 6.88 5.68 4.86 4.36 3.76 3.49 9/30/18 32.89 21.31 11.75 8.94 7.05 5.78 5.00 4.50 3.88 3.61

10/31/18 32.97 21.36 11.83 9.02 7.13 5.86 5.12 4.59 3.96 3.74 11/30/18 33.06 21.37 11.92 9.07 7.24 6.02 5.26 4.82 4.10 3.88 12/31/18 33.14 21.38 12.00 9.16 7.35 6.12 5.41 4.96 4.25 3.99 1/31/19 33.23 21.54 12.08 9.28 7.47 6.26 5.54 5.08 4.34 4.07 2/28/19 33.30 21.60 12.16 9.36 7.53 6.36 5.59 5.16 4.44 4.13 3/31/19 33.39 21.65 12.25 9.61 7.64 6.50 5.70 5.25 4.56 4.24 4/30/19 33.47 21.73 12.34 9.83 7.75 6.68 5.82 5.33 4.72 4.33 5/31/19 33.53 21.82 12.47 10.01 7.84 6.84 5.92 5.43 4.88 4.41 6/30/19 33.61 21.89 12.77 10.22 8.06 7.06 6.04 5.52 5.02 4.50 7/31/19 33.69 21.98 12.89 10.48 8.17 7.16 6.13 5.61 5.13 4.58 8/31/19 33.80 22.29 13.00 10.61 8.32 7.26 6.25 5.71 5.25 4.67 9/30/19 33.86 22.37 13.06 10.67 8.35 7.33 6.33 5.79 5.33 4.76

10/31/19 33.95 22.45 13.24 10.76 8.49 7.41 6.42 5.87 5.42 4.84 11/30/19 34.03 22.52 13.24 10.84 8.57 7.50 6.51 5.94 5.46 4.92 12/31/19 34.11 22.55 13.50 10.93 8.67 7.57 6.60 6.04 5.58 5.01 1/31/20 34.21 22.70 13.60 11.03 8.76 7.66 6.68 6.11 5.66 5.10 2/29/20 34.28 22.78 13.68 11.11 8.85 7.75 6.77 6.18 5.74 5.17 3/31/20 34.36 22.82 13.77 11.18 8.92 7.84 6.85 6.28 5.83 5.27 4/30/20 34.44 22.89 13.93 11.28 9.02 7.96 6.97 6.39 5.92 5.36 5/31/20 34.44 22.97 14.02 11.37 9.09 8.04 7.06 6.48 6.00 5.43 6/30/20 34.50 23.05 14.27 11.46 9.17 8.13 7.16 6.56 6.08 5.52 7/31/20 34.58 23.14 14.58 11.54 9.29 8.26 7.26 6.67 6.17 5.63 8/31/20 34.58 22.99 14.46 11.62 9.36 8.33 7.32 6.75 6.25 5.70 9/30/20 34.66 23.26 14.65 11.70 9.46 8.44 7.41 6.84 6.35 5.83

10/31/20 34.75 23.29 14.65 11.79 9.64 8.61 7.51 6.93 6.44 5.92

26

Eric Thompson

ERIC THOMPSON’S STREAK HITS 7 YEARS

It’s been a difficult year for many reasons. COVID has taken away so much we took for granted, including lives, careers, and businesses for some. Perspective is useful to remember the suffering others are enduring, when as an urgent care physician, I’ve seen more COVID cases as time goes on, particularly now after the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally where maskless was the norm. Worse yet, every year after school starts, 2-3 weeks later our healthcare business would always boom with more illness. I am hoping IF masks are worn we can cut down on all transmissible respiratory illness. After all there are 10,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000 types of viruses out there already, making it a wonder that our species is doing as well as we are.

So when I’m disappointed ANOTHER race is cancelled, perspective is my friend. With nothing to train for, and often working 13-hour shifts, it’s been hard to keep the streak alive. However, that’s the thing about habits, and I will get up at 4:30 to run without fail as that is my HABIT.

One part of the pandemic that has made this habit easier is the lack of travel. I previously would also work in Las Vegas monthly and COVID stopped that job cold. I miss the travel, but my daily routine is now more consistent. Look for the bright spots.

Change is inevitable, and you never know what tomorrow will bring. As runners, we already have more resilience than the average person. Desire and dedication to an essentially nonessential but inevitably beneficial daily activity provides so much to our wellbeing on several levels. Only those who GO can know… Happy Streaking Everyone!!!

Eric Thompson, MD Hill City, South Dakota

AMY WOULFE’S STREAK ENDS AFTER 663 DAYS

A bike crash and shattered elbow joint ended my first ever running streak. Against good sense, I put in three days of running before the surgeon came down with an official "no running" order. I started a new streak on August 10th with his all-clear. I completed over 1,400 miles this go-round.

Amy Woulfe Long Lake, Minnesota

MIKE PENNINGTON’S STREAK ENDS AFTER 570 DAYS

I got sick from COVID-19 and could no longer run. Still cannot run :( [message dated 27 August 2020].

Mike Pennington Greenville, South Carolina

27

James and Iain Hickman

IAIN HICKMAN’S STREAK

HITS 6 YEARS

Delighted in the last week to celebrate running for 6 years or 2193 consecutive days. It's always an enjoyable endeavor to plan ahead to fit in some of my runs when I'm a married father of three children and work full time as a teacher. Much to the chagrin of my wife who finds the mere mention of running a real bore, it's great to share my running journey with like-minded friends via Strava and follow the journeys of fellow runstreakers.

I've managed to get my son involved in running with me as we do a parkrun every Saturday and run at least once another day of the week. I feel so privileged to have a 10- year-old son who wants to run with me every week and in fact he's completed almost 300 parkruns with me, and I have been led to believe that he is the youngest parkrunner worldwide to the 250 milestone - he was 9 1/2 years old when he got there. I always remind myself that getting the youngsters interested and involved in running is of paramount importance as they are the future of running.

Over the pass few years many a friend and colleague have often asked - why do you run every day? Ever thought of taking a day off? You'll run better if you take a day off.

Well in answer to these common japes I've oft responded with words such as - I love running and discovering places is so much easier on the run, you often find wonderful views you often don't come across on a bike or in the car. Some days there has been (usually after a marathon) how am I going to run tomorrow, just one more day but somehow those trainers find a way onto the feet and out I've trotted once again and then the next day has been easier still and then it's just onwards and upwards to the next challenge. And, on running better all my PBs at every distance have been achieved whilst this streak has been alive - in fact as my memory recalls last year I ran my first sub20 5k in over a year the day after I ran a 30k - so who needs rest days. Experiencing the great outdoors during all seasons of the year is another major enjoyment of mine and as it so happens we are hurtling towards my favourite season of the year - Autumn.

I feel my most noteworthy achievement during this streak isn't the number of days run consecutively, nor the vast number of miles I've run during it (22,300+ miles), but the fact that I've managed to run every day despite being a Type I diabetic for over 30 years now. This has been a real challenge especially the days when the diabetes hasn't wanted to play ball. For me, I think it shows what you can achieve with perseverance, determination and a willingness to go with the flow. Surgery 2 years ago nearly ended the streak but I managed to run 2 miles a day at a ridiculously slow pace but it was definitely worth it. It seems well documented how we runstreakers manage to find radical ways around life's adversities in order to keep our runstreaks alive. I'm sure there are plenty of other stories out there to add to mine. Here's to many more days and years of running everyday, which for me is probably the greatest adventure I've ever begun.

Iain Hickman Nottingham, England, U.K.

28

Gali Medyna

GALI MEDYNA

JOINS SRI AS LIFETIME MEMBER

FROM FINLAND

Back in early February 2018 we had a few days of not-too-bad weather (for Helsinki) and so I went to run outside a couple of days in a row and here I am over 900 days later! I’ve faced snowstorms, heat waves, deluges, Mistral winds, and the forever dreaded treadmill workouts on a couple of continents. One thing that hasn’t changed is my family and friends asking, “so you’re still doing your running thing then?”

I came to running by pure chance. The Marseille-Cassis race goes under a bridge close to where I grew up. We went to watch everyone go by in the early 2000s and the rest is history! I started training shortly afterwards and ran my first Marseille-Cassis the next year and have been back almost every year to face those 10km uphill and 10km downhill. This is not my first attempt at a running streak. All previous attempts died around the 50th day when something started hurting or I developed some kind of mental block. This time around I’ve discovered the art of being patient with my body and embracing any tough conditions the weather throws my way. I also have specific goals in mind to have something tangible to look forward to - the next one is reaching 1000 days on November 4th.

Gali Medyna Helsinki, Finland

BRYAN NIEBANCK’S STREAK HITS 4 YEARS

I am still going strong four years later, although the pandemic has hindered my running since I have spent more time trying to figure out what is next than going on longer runs. I have still made sure to run every day though, and now that my life has settled down again I am beginning to build my miles. I graduated seminary school in May, and now I have begun a career as a pastor. 2020 will be the only year during my streak without a marathon, because of cancellations. Troublesome is the fact that marathons are usually on Sundays, when I have to preach!!

Bryan Niebanck Milford, Connecticut

29

MICHAEL FRIEDL’S STREAK ENDS AFTER 1,139 DAYS

Back in 2013 as I approached my 50th birthday, I committed to running every day. The impact of the consistent mileage was huge. My racing improved to times I hadn’t seen since my 30s and I felt bulletproof from injury or infirmity. After 1,511 days I missed on 7/7/17 (long story), then resumed the next day. Even with the one missed day, I ran at least 20 miles for 371 consecutive weeks. However, last spring I developed a soreness in my left knee. Backing off speed and distance didn’t seem to help. Neither did my relentless work schedule. By July, I dropped my 2-mile daily minimum and hoped to see some improvement but none came. By mid-August I finally came to the conclusion that I needed to take some time to just rest to try to reduce the inflammation. So I reluctantly ended my second streak on August 19 after 1139 days. When added to my previous streak of 1511 days, I ran 2650 of 2651 days from 5/18/13 to 8/19/20. Two weeks of rest and the beginning of PT have shown considerable improvement. I’m looking forward to resuming training again soon. It was really hard to pull the plug, but I started the streak to improve my running, and I ended it for the same reason. I won’t rule out another daily streak, but a streak I want to maintain is breaking 20:00 for 5K, which I’ve done for 40 consecutive years. I love this group and will continue to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of all of you. Oh and that includes my son, Luke, who is at RSD 666 today. Streak on, friends!

Michael Friedl Laguna Hills, California

SEBASTIAN SZYJKA’S STREAK HITS 3 YEARS

I am happy to report that my running streak hit 3 years today [5 September 2020]. I first learned about streak running 10 years ago. I want to give credit to Bill Leibfritz (38 year streak as of this year) for giving me the "idea" of streak running. I worked with Bill as a professor during my first year as a faculty member. Ever since then, I have thought about doing one. In 2015, I attempted doing 100 push-ups a day as a "streak." That lasted a little over 500 days. However, as it turned out, it was not until 9.5.2017 that I decided to give streak running a try. At the time Bill had shared the concept of running every day, he mentioned that he ran about 4 miles per day. That daily distance had somehow become my "standard," one that has been quite elusive to achieve, let alone maintain. It is amazing how the law of averages can make it very difficult to increase the bottom line number over the course of a thousand or so days. I can only imagine how difficult it might be to increase an average over 5 or 10 or even 20 years. Well...gotta run.

Sebastian Szyjka Macomb, Illinois

DEBORAH JOHNSON’S STREAK HITS 6 YEARS

Today, 9-4-20, starts year 7 of my streak. I've run 11,471 miles in those 6 years. I plan on keeping on keeping on forever. Thank you all for the motivation.

Deborah Johnson Littleton, Colorado

30

Jemal Swoboda

JEMAL SWOBADA’S STREAK

HITS 3 YEARS

3 years in the books! I remember counting the days the first couple years but this year I just fell into a rhythm with my running and a more balanced life. The year kicked off right after my 2nd streak anniversary during the Ouray 50 miler in Colorado and included a top 10 finish in the Natchez Trace 50 Miler just south of Nashville, an 11th place finish in a virtual 5K (still got a bit of speed...), a virtual 15-person team run across the US in 18 days 13 hours, and another 12 straight 100-mile months to bring my streak to 36 months in late July. I didn't keep track of the mile run streak savers this year but there were a few while on the road traveling the country this past summer and while trying to keep my startup business afloat during COVID. Fun fact is that I was able to enjoy running in 4 separate National Parks with my family this summer and I tracked runs in 10 separate states over 5 weeks.

At this point, it isn't a question of whether or not I will run but whether or not I'll push myself to keep up the 100-mile months, the ultra-marathons, and explore more ways to stay healhty when so many in the world are fighting this awful virus and fighting for their lives. It's a great lesson to be grateful for every mile.

Jemal Swoboda Chicago, Illinois

THERESA MAZZARO-FLORA’S

STREAK HITS 11 YEARS

Not much to report except that I’m still running every day! I’m very grateful that I have my running during the pandemic, and that I live in an area where it’s easy to get out and run-in wide-open spaces. As always, running every day has kept me sane! I hope you and yours are well and wish you best regards and good health.

Theresa Mazzaro-Flora Mt. Kisco, New York

URSKA IVANUS’ STREAK HITS 3 YEARS

My streak is still alive and kicking. Warmest regards from Slovenia.

Urska Ivanus Ljubljana, Slovenia

JOHN WOLFF’S STREAK HITS 30 YEARS

Still going strong.

John Wolff Bonita Springs, Florida

31

Kylyn Swatsenbarg

KYLYN SWATSENBARG’S

STREAK HITS 2 YEARS

Hi! My name is Kylyn, I’m 16 years old and I’ve been run streaking for a little over 2 years now. My family and I started doing 5ks when I was around 9 or 10. My mom lost a significant amount of weight around this time and as we started eating healthier and being more active we started running more. At the age of 13 my mom inspired/challenged me to run my first half marathon with her. In a torrential downpour and wind gusts strong enough to knock over port-a-potties, I finished the red fern half marathon without

having to turn back, like several other racers. It was one of the biggest accomplishments in my life. I’ve run many other races since then, including another half marathon last year. My run streak began when my brother was training for his black belt in karate and had to do a minimum of 1 mile a day for 40 days. I did it with him, and when my mom mentioned people do run streaks, I decided to see how long I could continue! Some of the craziest things I have done to maintain my streak include running around inside my house on stormy days, getting dropped off a mile from home, and racing to beat the clock before midnight. One of the biggest benefits of run streaking is it helps keep me in shape for competitive basketball. Running is a great full body workout. The challenge and commitment of doing at least a mile a day encourages discipline, determination, and perseverance. I plan on continuing my streak as long as I’m physically able. My goal is to run my first marathon at the age of 18 or sooner. Streak on fellow streakers!!

Kylyn Swatsenbarg Collinsville, Oklahoma

BILL HOWES’ STREAK HITS 9 YEARS

Yes, nine years is in the books!! I am very thankful to be able to get out there and do this every day. The last year was pretty much pain and illness free. I’m looking forward to getting to 10 years and join the ranks of the “experienced.” I wish Good luck and continued success to all my fellow streakers!

Bill Howes Royal Oak, Michigan

32

Anders Hauser & family

ANDERS HAUSER’S STREAK

HITS 1 YEAR

Hi my name is Anders. I started my streak 12 September 2018. That way 9/11 is my streak celebration day. And I am still going strong. I run minimum one mile every day. It is my first streak. I have run 5666km since the streak started. That is 7.6km every day in average. My longest run was last weekend when I ran 100k here in Denmark.

Anders Hauser Jyderup, Denmark

BRYAN SEARS’ STREAK ENDS AFTER 2,997 DAYS

Decided yesterday [21 September 2020] morning to simply end my streak. The decision was not made lightly after the last 8 years. Happy to go out on my terms, still healthy and active. Running will always be part of my life, just not daily.

Bryan Sears Joshua, Texas

Angela Dutcher

ANGELA DUTCHER’S STREAK

HITS 2 YEARS

I just reached 2 years of running at least a mile every single day. I never imagined that I would have been able to make it even a month much less 2 years! It has made me a stronger person and I am glad I started. 1,000 days (comma day) is my next goal.

Angela Dutcher Roscoe, New York

EMMA TRUMP’S STREAK ENDS AFTER 3,396 DAYS

My streak is retired due to surgery.

Emma Trump Decatur, Illinois

33

Sam Bays

SAM BAYS’ STREAK

HITS 2 YEARS

What started out as a month long run streak challenge I saw posted on Instagram turned into so much more. On October 1st, 2020 my runstreak officially hit 2 years! Yay! Other than just a handful of times due to illness or minor injuries, I’ve run 3 miles or more (often much more) every day for two years. It boggles my brain every time I think about because I was NOT a runner at all much more than 3 years ago. I never envisioned it would go this long, but it’s turned into such a driving and rewarding part of my life. It’s helped give my life focus. It’s introduced me to so many new and encouraging people along the way. My coach and others have asked multiple times how long I want to keep it going, and I honestly don’t know. It could last another 10 years, 10 days, or end tomorrow. I can’t say. All I know for sure is that I’m sure as hell enjoying the ride.

Sam Bays

Edmond, Oklahoma

BOB MCLEOD’S STREAK HITS 5 YEARS

Just completed 5 years of a running streak. Thankful that my body holds up to the abuse. I run 6 km most days, always outside. Because I run in Canada temp ranges from 30 degrees C in Summer to minus 30 degrees in winter. Hopefully I have 5 more years in me.

Bob Mcleod Calgary, Alberta, Canada

DEB BRASSFIELD’S STREAK

HITS 23 YEARS

Still running every day!!! Since the Covid I am lucky to still be flying “working.” The majority of my runs are in Tahiti and Hawaii. Thank you for this amazing group of people. Hoping to see each of you on my United Airlines flight one day!!!

Deb Brassfield San Jose, California

MIKE CROWDER’S STREAK

ENDS AFTER 1,341 DAYS

Unfortunately, I have to report that my short-lived streak ended on August 31. I had surgery on my toe and obeyed my doctor's orders. Hopefully, I can start a new streak in the not so distant future.

Mike Crowder Indianapolis, Indiana

AGA CARLSSON’S STREAK

ENDS AFTER 521 DAYS

My streak ended due to an eye operation.

Aga Carlsson Stockholm, Sweden

34

Eugena Watson

EUGENA WATSON

JOINS USRSA

I have been running for around 25 years mainly to stay in shape, relieve stress, and to get outside. I call it my Prozac as it helps with my anxiety and depression. I have done a couple of 30-day streaks but would like to take it longer and do a year! I signed up here in advance for inspiration!

Eugena Watson Los Gatos, California

MONICA JOHANSSON’S STREAK HITS 2 YEARS

I am so proud of my ambition to run every day during 2 years. Going from a marathon runner to an ultra over these two years has been magic. I was a true optimist even before I started my runstreak, but now I become even better (or worse, depending who is reading). I see what I can achieve with positive thinking and it made me come so far, and I know it can be even more.

I do not fear the darkness in the forest, I look forward to use my flash light. I do not fear the pouring rain, I look forward to use my rain jacket. I do not fear to be tired in the morning, I look forward to meet the sunrise. I do not fear running alone, I look forward listening to a pod or book. This is how I can go on with my positive thinking. I like to see my running as adventures and to explore different things, it can be a new path in the forest, a new lake to swim in (yes, I love to swim during my runs), a new snack to try (I love to eat during my long running races) or to meet a new (or old) couple of friends for a social run. The shortest distance over these 2 years has been 2 km and minimum 20 minutes and the longest (so far) was my first 100 miles. When I started I thought, ok let’s see if I can manage 100 days and then it just continued. 20 minutes of fresh air and movement gives harmony and energy to other parts of my life (kids, husband, home, job, friends, etc). Best sport I have started!

Monica Johansson Göteborg, Sweden

GRANT WOODMAN’S STREAK HITS 23 YEARS

I am still running consistently and am averaging about 9 miles a day. Some weeks/days are more, some are less. I should roll over 100,000 lifetime miles in the spring of 2021 and I just recently rolled over 75,000 for the streak. I posted on the FB page for my 23-year streakiversary, so if you haven't seen that, take a look. With my combined streaks (retired and current) I am 133rd on the all-time list. Streak On!

Grant Woodman Ithaca, Michigan

35

Jon Asphjell

JON ASPHJELL

JOINS SRI FROM NORWAY

I ran in the Ekeberg park with wonderful views of Oslo, Norway's capital. Even a picture from "The Scream View," where Munch was inspired when painting "The Scream." I am a scrub nurse, wedding singer and ultra runner. I live in Oslo, Norway and I have been running for about six years. I do mostly ultra races and sign up for about 5-10 races each year. I commute run to and from work in the city, and run or walk with my elderly dog in the woods when I can.

Jon Asphjell Oslo, Norway

HEINZ KABUTZ’S STREAK HITS 2 YEARS

Last Wednesday [7 October 2020] was a glorious day on the Island of Crete. Warm weather, not a breath of wind. A summer day in October. Kalathas beach has a couple of hundred yards of soft sand. Longer would be better, but it is good enough and the view is breathtaking. After dropping the kids at school, I headed down for my daily streak. Here I was, dodging sand castles and hopping over small rocks, as I made my way, huffing and puffing, over the soft sand. I thought of Raven. A tall Greek man wet from the sea broke my day dreaming with "Not running! Swimming! Sea is p-e-r-f-e-c-t!" I ignored him, and he kept on shouting after me in great frustration that I should rather swim than run. I had intended to stop at that point and go for a swim, but his shouting spurred me on. Wonder what he would think if he knew that I did this EVERY day? I picked up the pace and carried on. More shouting as I ran back past him, with drops of saliva shooting from his mouth "No running. Swim!” Greece has a long history of runners, from Pheidippides all the way to Dean Karnazes. Not this guy. I realized that if I stopped now, he would win. After about 15 minutes he had skulked off the beach and I got my swim. No one ever shouted at me for exercising before. But I can imagine many wondering "why is this crazy running in this heat?"

Heinz Kabutz Chania, Greece

36

Jennie Ossentjuk with granddaughter Valerie

JENNIE OSSENTJUK’S STREAK

HITS 3 YEARS “Streaking Along the X-Axis”

The third year of my running streak was exponentially harder than year 1 or year 2. Plagued by piriformis for the first few months led to lower weekly mileage and more 1-mile “streak-makers” than for which I ever thought I’d have to settle. Then my mother who had been ill for quite some time died and the weeks surrounding her passing limited my running as well due to logistics of time, and mental strength; I was just exhausted. A few weeks into 2020 I found myself on a run, a song playing whose lyrics were encouraging, telling me that “maybe this year will be better than the last.” I remember smiling and feeling more optimistic and ready to become re-energized thinking about Spring and the renewal it generally brings. Suffice it to say, Spring did not bring renewal. If I graphed the events occurring in my life in 2020 it would look like a scatter chart and as you start to connect the dots a pattern not unlike a roller-coaster would emerge. Rocky

climbs leaving me gasping for air marking my job loss, quarantine, deaths of family members and friends from COVID-19, and my husband’s job loss were countered by some points of “easy downhills” experienced while exploring our beautiful natural surroundings, more family time with our kids (a positive plot point for me, probably less so for them); and eventually the cadence of “tempo runs” returned with new jobs, the beginnings of socialization, and places we enjoy opening up again. The sadness, fear and hopelessness buffered by faith, love - and a lot of patience. Graphs have two axes, however. While we measure vertically the points on the Y-axis; the X-axis is a horizontal straight line, something steady that seems to move forward in a slow plodding way compared to the frenzy of the “Y.” As streakers know – our daily runs are our X-axis; the dependable base, something we can control when everything else seems to be completely out of control. As I celebrate the 3rd anniversary of my streak, I have no race PRs to show for it (and only a few “virtual races” at that) but as I think about this unusual year, I had at least one running “high point” for certain – hitting the elusive “Comma Day,” and I know whatever the upcoming year brings, the count of running days will continue over time on the travel of the “X-Axis of Life.”

Jennie Ossentjuk Washingtonville, New York

ANTHONY HORYNA’S STREAK

ENDS AFTER 1,738 DAYS

Unfortunately, I had to stop my running streak after 4,7 years. That is after 1738 days precisely. After 14.848,17 miles of running. Based on a medical decision with little to no room to continue streak.

Anthony Horyna Wiesbaden, Germany

37

Jonathan Howse

“[M]y finishing photo of the 2018 Boston Marathon where I ran 2:57:41, a time

helped by my current streak!”

JONATHAN HOWSE’S STREAK HITS 4 YEARS

My running streak began more as a question to see how many days I could run in a row to support the consistent daily volume needed to do well in my first Boston Marathon in 2017. The result was I requalified for 2018 and ran a sub 3-hour marathon PR in the rain, headwind, and cold that underscored that year's Boston. I then returned in 2019 for my third year and subsequently requalified for my fourth year which was a virtual race for 2020. I am currently qualified for the 2021 Boston Marathon but am uncertain of the race's fate. As such, this fall and winter centers around two half marathons and a full marathon that are all happening locally.

My running streak also contributed to PRs at the other race distances of 5K, 10K, 15K (Gate River), 10 miles, and half marathon! As to the question of how many days in a row I can run? I'm still finding out! Until then, I'll keep cranking out daily runs of 1 mile to 26.2 miles!

Jonathan Howse West Melbourne, Florida

CLARISSA NESMITH’S STREAK

ENDS AFTER 1,014 DAYS

I landed really hard on my left knee during a run that left a bad laceration and a lot of road rash. I probably could have had a few one mile streak saver days to keep going but being 21 weeks pregnant, I felt it was time to stop and get through this pregnancy without any more risk.

Clarissa NeSmith Warner Robins, Georgia

KAREN TYLER’S STREAK

HITS 4 YEARS

Still running at least, a mile a day - not fast, but still going! Four years on 10.14.2020 Happy to be still vertical and still plodding along.

Karen Tyler Roseville, California

EDMUND LIU’S STREAK ENDS AFER 1,468 DAYS

My streak has ended from a burn on my foot. The last day that I ran is October 8 (10/08/20).

Edmond Liu Gering, Nebraska

38

Derrick Spafford

DERRICK SPAFFORD

JOINS SRI FROM CANADA;

STARTED STREAK IN 1989

I have been running and racing year round since 1982; but I started my streak in 1989 as a way of trying to be more consistent with my running and improve my performances in races. Having followed Ron Hill, and his streak, it intrigued me to see how a streak could help my own running. My running has always included a lot of trail running, even when I was racing more on the track and roads in my early days. Most of my running now involves trail, mountain, ultra and snowshoe running. Running trails in the Canadian Wilderness is my passion. Not just established routes, but mostly exploring unmarked trails, following deer tracks, bushwhacking and running frozen backcountry lakes in the winter. I am happiest after returning from this type of run totally exhausted with a massive smile on my face. PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1. Having run every day since December 26, 1989.

2. Completing an unsupported traverse of running the Akshayuk Pass on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic…and yes, I saw 3 polar bears in the wild. 3. Completing the Yukon Arctic Ultra twice, including a second place finish, and the 3rd fastest 100-mile time ever run on the course. 4. Winning the Haliburton Forest 100 miler in my first 100-mile attempt, and then running the second fastest time ever the following year. 5. Building a running adventure business where I can share my passion for trail running through coaching and race directing, and seeing others meet and exceed their goals. Website: https://www.healthandadventure.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DerrickSpafford Instagram: https://www.healthandadventure.com Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1478787

Derrick Spafford Yarker, Ontario, Canada

Derrick Spafford

JENNIFER WALT’S STREAK

ENDS AFTER 3,205 DAYS

My streak ended due to injury.

Jennifer Walt Huntington Beach, California

39

Sarah Berthag Ljones

SARAH BERTHAG LJONES’

STREAK HITS 3 YEARS

I don't really remember how it all started. I had heard about run streak and I think it was my sister that started it. Just a couple of days after her start, I got inspired and started as well. I had now plan for how long I would run. Just to try it out for a while. My sister ended her streak after being sick and ending up at hospital. I kept on running. Most days I have my dog with me, which is a good motivator to get out. I have memories from my first year with run streak, before it really turned out to be a routine. I could be in bed, just about to sleep, when I realized I had not run that day. A deep breath and then up, get dressed, run, quick shower and then back to bed. Now a days I do most of my runs first thing in the morning so that I won't forget. It's a good way to start the day. During these three years I have done my first marathon, and a couple of half marathons. But mostly I just run short rounds between 2,5km to 5km. I have a very busy life with three kids with special needs, two dogs and I'm a business owner. I think that running every day keeps me sane in my insane world.

The big question is: How do you end a run streak or do you run every day for the rest of your life......?

Sarah Berthag Ljones Bua Halland, Sweden

NATASHA PEOPLES’ STREAK

HITS 2 YEARS

Today [19 October 2020] marks my two year Streak Anniversary! While it comes with a little less fanfare than last year, I'm no less proud of the accomplishment - and perhaps more so, considering the wild and whacky circumstances that 2020 has thrown our way. As a nurse practitioner, I've worked all through the pandemic and the work has only gotten busier through the year. Thanks to family and friends who support (tolerate?) my running obsession, I've managed to continue the streak. Virtual running friends in various groups have made the streaking much more fun and motivated me to push myself when all the races were cancelled. I volunteered with a kids' running club and was rewarded with the only in-person race of my year, helping a 12-year old cross the finish line of my slowest and proudest 10K. Happy running, friends!

Natasha Peoples Grand Haven, Michigan

HENRIK EINARSON’S STREAK

HITS 3 YEARS

Today [15 October 2020] I celebrate 3 years of running!!

Henrik Einarson Växjö, Sweden

40

Veronika von Heise-Rotenburg

VERONIKA VON HEISE-ROTENBURG’S STREAK

HITS 5 YEARS

5 years, 1828 days, 12.400km in my streak today.! This is enough for place 8 in Germany and in the international forum at least for the step from "neophyte" to "proficient" and of course for a big Manner cake." https://www.streakrunner.de/streak/ranking The best experiences: * Firsts: first marathon, first ultra during that time. * Most beautiful: 2Oceans Ultramarathon, KiniTrail, around Chiemsee lake. * Warmest / coldest: 40 degrees Porto, -14 degrees Vaterstetten. * Hardest: the day after the cervical surgery. Broken toes, blisters, twisted ankle etc. were also included. * Slowest: the day after the 2Oceans, in Capetown even uphill. # As always with big decision in life (and exactly the same as going vegan), it was only planned for 30 days and then just kept running further and longer, until Christmas, into the next year, and so on. Thanks to all supporters, friends, family, my crew at Adidas Runners Munich and hoping for many more years to come!

Veronika von Heise-Rotenburg Vaterstetten, Germany

Shandra Stout

SHANDRA STOUT’S STREAK

HITS 4 YEARS On October 15, 2020 I wrapped up year 4 of streak running and on October 16 celebrated my streakaversary by starting year five. The last year I focused on strength training to combat some hamstring injuries and am finally injury free. I’ve been grateful to be able to run outside during this pandemic and hope to be celebrating year 5 rolling into year 6 under much different world circumstances!

Shandra Stout Fort Mill, South Carolina

ROBERT CROSBY’S THIRD

STREAK HITS 3 YEARS

It was a pretty good year of running and getting to 2 years streaking for the 3rd time. The highlight came in early February just before the Covid cancellations got going when I finally finished my 10th 100-mile race after a 14-year hiatus. Keep on trudging brothers and sisters!

Robert Crosby Summerville, South Carolina

41

Kevin Burmaster’s Half Marathon P.R.

KEVIN BURMASTER

JOINS USRSA AS LIFETIME MEMBER

I'm a newly paid up streaker! RSD 523 was a workout of 10-11 miles @ M-tempo (5:52 min/mi pace /- 05) a bit hot on that section, and 2-3 miles at threshold (5:30 /- 5). It wasn't max effort, but it was a confidence builder! I ended up with a unofficial and unintentional half marathon PR of 1:14:50. I'll be hoping to podium the fastest streakers marathon list once racing becomes a thing!

Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/9e730vZpYab -- moving time elapsed time! I had to slow down a bit due to some tight cornering in the course. Also, my water bottle was hidden in bushes at mile 8. So, I had to dig it out. I'll definitely achieve faster. I hope to follow in my father's footsteps. He is on RSD 10,000. He is my inspiration in running. This one is for Brent Burmaster! He showed me anything is possible.

Kevin Burmaster Tarzana, California

BILL SHIRES’ STREAK

HITS 34 YEARS

I wish that I had a long list of good things to report about my running. I don't. Like most others, I have spent most of my time this year exploring the life of a lonely long-distance runner. With no races on my schedule, I have been running many more miles. If I continue at this pace, I should top 4000 miles for the first time in years. Talk to you next year. Hopefully, by then, the world will have righted itself.

Bill Shires Charlotte, North Carolina

ALEX POLASEK’S STREAK ENDS AFTER 1,002 DAYS

I had a great time with a bit over than 1000 runs. But now the time has arrived to stop this sequence. So, on Monday, Oct. 12 I had my last streak #1002. Thanks, and have a good time with all the runners.

Alex Polasek Oberentfelden, Switzerland

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Brenda Lepich

BRENDA LEPICH’S STREAK HITS 6 YEARS

This year I hit my 2,000 RSD!!! I run about 5 miles outside no matter the weather in WI! This year more than ever it felt amazing to have one thing in my life remain normal! Despite quarantine ruining most things I was able to continue my streak! Since I run alone at 5am quarantine didn’t stop me!

Brenda Lepich Manitowoc, Wisconsin

DOUG CAMPBELL’S STREAK ENDS AFTER 1,945 DAYS

Minor setback, so giving myself some time to rest. It's been a great experience but I'm also happy to call it a day 5 years, 4 countries, 10 states, and 4,750 miles later.

Doug Campbell Cambridge, Massachusetts

ED SEAMAN’S STREAK HITS 7 YEARS

The streak continues into the seventh year! Semper Fi, simplify & God Bless.

Ed Seaman Dayton, Ohio

KAYE KRUEGER’S STREAK HITS 3 YEARS

I started running about 35 years ago when I was an aerobic instructor at the local YMCA. Most of the instructors were runners so I felt I had to run also. It was an on/off relationship with running until my friend asked me to start a running streak on November 1, 2017. Three years ago!! Now running is part of who I am. I run early in the morning when it's peaceful and I thank God for t