What are your thoughts on running streakers, or those who have run daily for many years?

Much less than 40 years and almost always more than a mile. Every day feels better for having run. That's the only benefit I'm mentioning these days.

indeedy wrote:

I think it's dumb wrote:

People that have to keep their streak alive have something wrong in their head, it's either a pride thing or I don't even know what.

They pretend it's a quest, but really it's a compulsion.

I generally agree with this. People who "have" to run every day miss out on other rewarding experiences because they can't bear to put themselves in a situation where they can't run for a day. And I can't believe that very many people go for years and years without ever having an illness or an accident that leaves them in a physical state where running is, at best, miserable and counterproductive.

I usually run seven days a week and have been doing so for decades, but I'm not afraid to take a day off for illness, injury, or just something else I'd rather do. I'd guess my longest streaks are a few months in duration.

amkelley wrote:

People who "have" to run every day miss out on other rewarding experiences because they can't bear to put themselves in a situation where they can't run for a day.

I don't "have" to run every day. I want to run everyday.

I have been in at least two situations where I thought "That's it, I am needed here and I won't run today." - and I am talking serious stuff. Like a very close relative dying.

Things developed the way they did and I was able to run later in the day without affecting anyone.

amkelley wrote:

I'm not afraid to take a day off for illness, injury, or just something else I'd rather do.

Neither am I.

Just never had to.

I'll admit it, I'm one of these crazy streakers. Even though I used to run very fast, now my stupid claim to fame is that in order to keep my silly streak alive, I hobbled two laps around a high school track daily for a few weeks while my leg was in a cast.

I am 69 and still running decently (sub-21:00 5k) and I take days off whenever I feel like I need one. For a number of years I used to run weekly with an MD who had been running at least 10 miles a day every day since he was in med school. He was definitely faster than I was. I was in my early 50s and he was about 10 years younger. By my late 50s he was having a serious knee problem in one knee. By my early 60s he had no cartilage left in one knee and needed a knee replacement. He needed a second knee replacement a couple of years later. From talking to him, I am reasonably sure that if he had not elected to maintain his streak through several overuse injuries he would have significantly delayed, if not avoided, his knee deterioration. Streaks are fine if your health permits, but running with injuries can be a recipe for future problems.

my 2c wrote:

I never run more than 6 days per week, so I have no streak to speak of and I'm not interested in pursuing one. However, since the surest route to success is consistent, steady effort, keeping a streak going is probably better than what 90% of hobbyist runners do. It may not be the optimal choice every day, and a lot depends on what kind of running they actually do, but streak runners have identified something important and are doing it mostly right.

Well said! You could do a hell of a lot worse than to have a hundred-day running streak under your belt.

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I was one of those runners who loved running, bettering myself, and competing for my teammates, but post-college I found motivation difficult. The year that I kept a running streak for ~9 months was the best year of training I've ever had. More importantly, I just felt generally good in all facets of my life. I had to plan ahead some times on days where I would be out the door at 7 and home at 11, and some runs happened late at night. Some 1-3 mile days really ought to have been days off.

The purpose of the streak is to change the question from "Will I go out the door today?" to "When will I go out the door today?" If you are one of those runners who just always wants to run (probably many letsrun visitors/serious runners), then a streak doesn't make much sense from a training standpoint. But for me, it was a net benefit.

I have a sort of friend who I just learned is on a "streak." You would not know it to look at him. A mile a day even on a treadmill is a feat I guess but not really something I find impressive.

You’re basically taking their word for it when they tell you they run every single day.

I think it's dumb wrote:

It's not a good idea if you actually care about running fast. Your body needs the time off to build even stronger during the next training block. Just like you do a workout and an easy day afterwards, you do big blocks of training before a peak race, then the down time (time off) to completely recover, and then your next training cycle you build even stronger. People that have to keep their streak alive have something wrong in their head, it's either a pride thing or I don't even know what.

lol it's 1 mile a day...

These people are classified as highly functioning, yet completely obsessive compulsive.

One mile is not a "run". The "rule" should be at least 5 miles. THAT would be impressive. Anyone can hobble along for a mile, even if they're sick, post op, in grad school, have a family, or any of the other situations in life that dictate a day off is a good thing, not something to be avoided.

NtC wrote:

The purpose of the streak is to change the question from "Will I go out the door today?" to "When will I go out the door today?" If you are one of those runners who just always wants to run (probably many letsrun visitors/serious runners), then a streak doesn't make much sense from a training standpoint. But for me, it was a net benefit.

+1

OCD Baby wrote:

These people are classified as highly functioning, yet completely obsessive compulsive.

One mile is not a "run". The "rule" should be at least 5 miles. THAT would be impressive. Anyone can hobble along for a mile, even if they're sick, post op, in grad school, have a family, or any of the other situations in life that dictate a day off is a good thing, not something to be avoided.

Don't judge everyone.

I am obsessive compulsive - one of the reasons for my mental health problems. Others do it for the attention, for some claim to fame or whatever. There will be different reasons for different people.

And there is no rule as for the 1 mile thing, or 5 miles as you suggest.

I have averaged around 50 miles/week for my streak. My shortest run was just over 5k and the longest a marathon.

I've read some articles of people saying "there was a hurricane outside so I ran back and forth in a hallway in our house for 15 minutes...hashtag run streak!" Sorry. That doesn't count, IMO.

I don't blame you for not being impressed with running a mile every day. It really is not that hard to do. But there are no rules about what constitutes a streak. If someone runs a 100 yards a day and claims to have run every day you can't truly they that they didn't run every day. If someone finds doing that impressive, and I don't know why you would, then it's impressive. If no one finds doing that impressive. If someone thinks a day off is a good thing and wants to have one they should. If someone else does not think a day off is a good thing and doesn't want to take one they should not. These sorts of threads fascinate me because I cannot begin to figure out why people care if another person runs for years without missing a day or not.

Should say "If no one finds doing that impressive then it's not."

If a person has some tendencies to hyperfocus on a behavior, then why not channel that tendency into being ultra-consistent with running?

Gotta work with what y’got, right?

I can imagine “streaking” leading to some comical extremes, like having to break up an international flight into two legs, JUST so that you don’t skip a day of running.

But ideally — like if you get an injury — you can always start a new streak.

Channeling obsessive tendencies into running, can be good. Being a slave to obsessive tendencies, can be downright ridiculous.

TheGoldenMonkey wrote:

Channeling obsessive tendencies into running, can be good. Being a slave to obsessive tendencies, can be downright ridiculous.

Well put.

indeedy wrote:

I think it's dumb wrote:

People that have to keep their streak alive have something wrong in their head, it's either a pride thing or I don't even know what.

They pretend it's a quest, but really it's a compulsion.

Yes, I would diagnose it in the obsessive compulsive disease category of mental illness.

And I'm a guy that is "compulsive."