Why I Don't Streak

Run streaks are all the rage these days.  Everybody’s doing one.  It’s all over Instagram and Facebook and the blogosphere.  Everywhere.  You can’t get away from it if you follow any amount of runners on social media.  However, I’m not streaking and I have no intention of ever doing a run streak.  Ever.  Why?  Well, I’m glad you asked.

First, running is FUN for me.  It’s not just a way for me to lose weight or gain status or relieve stress.  However, all those things do come with being a regular runner to some degree.  Sure, running has assisted me in losing some weight, but I am unfortunately not one of those people that can literally run off the weight.  Even when I’m watching what I eat and portioning all my foods and counting all my calories, I still have a huge struggle to lose any weight.  So, I say the first reason I don’t do a run streak is because running is fun for me.  But, if I love running so much and if running is so much fun to do for me, then why on earth wouldn’t I want to do it every day?  A very good question right there.

If I were to decide to do a run streak and started running at least 1 mile outside every day (per the rules of having a recognizable run streak per those people that recognize run streaks…whoever they are), running would eventually become a chore to me.  Seriously?  You might be asking.  Yes, seriously.  It would become tedious and it would be something that I HAD to do or I wouldn’t meet my goal of running at least a little bit every single day. 

I mentioned that running is great stress relief, even though it’s not the main reason I run.  It does help me work through rough patches and emotional times.  When something bad or kinda bad hits me, my immediate response is to go for a run to clear my head.  If I were to run every day and running then turned into a tedious chore that I had to do every day, then it would actually start CAUSING me stress.  Counterproductive right there.

On to the gain status effect I mentioned.  People look up to you as a runner, even if you’re slow as molasses, non-runners will admire your dedication and determination to running.  They won’t understand it, but they will admire it.  They might mock you, but that’s just because they don’t know what to say and they don’t want to sound stupid, so that’s okay with me.  I don’t get mad at them.  I just say “hey, running’s not for everybody” and don’t get bent out of shape over some snide remark.  People that are just starting into fitness and healthy lifestyle will come to you for advice, even if you’ve only been running a couple months.  You might think you don’t know anything, but to them, you know a lot more than they do and so they come to you with their questions.  You have status now.  When you do a run streak, OTHER RUNNERS will look up to you and admire you and your dedication and determination.  I know I most certainly admire runners that lace up day after day, every day, and STILL ENJOY running.  I admire them because I know I can never be in that place.  I’m cool with running twice, or three or four or five times a week, but not with running all 7.

I’m not trying to talk YOU out of starting a run streak if that’s something you’re considering doing.  In fact, I want to take this moment right now to ENCOURAGE you to start one.  If you think it will add value to your running and your life, then please start one.  You will regret it if you don’t.  But start small.  Just start with “I want to run every day for a month.”  Do that and then see how you feel at the end of the month.  If you feel great and you’re really digging it, then keep it up!  I, for one, will be in admiration of you…sincerely.