2,000 Days to Remember

Over the course of my running streak, I have intentionally not made too big of a deal about any ‘milestone’ days. Not because I didn’t notice those days, but just because I wanted to treat them like any other day.

Actually, I don’t think I told too many people outside of my family that I was even running every day until Day 900 or so. I just didn’t think it was anything worth bringing up or talking about.

But as Day 2,000 approached, it felt a little bit different to me.

When I figured out that Day 2,000 would be two days after I ran the Copenhagen Marathon, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do anything too long or intense to celebrate it.

But I also knew that, if possible, I would like to run it with my great friend, Rune. After all Rune and I had run together several other times over the past year and I would still be in Denmark relaxing after the marathon.

Unfortunately, Rune had knee surgery only a few days before I arrived in Denmark, so he wasn’t able to run with me on Day 2,000 as we had originally planned. But being the great friend that he is, he went with me and relaxed while I completed my run. It might not have been the same that we would have done if he was able to run, but it was still a good way to mark the day and one that I definitely won’t forget.

Fortunately, I have had a few other memorable (non-race) days during my running streak.

In no particular order, here they are:

Day 606 – The Day it Almost Ended

This day is memorable for the wrong reasons.

In July 2019, I was in a car accident on the way home from work that totaled my car. As I got out of the car, one of my first thoughts was “I still need to go for my run.” It was just after 3pm, so I figured I would still have plenty of time if I could just get home.

Even though I was not injured, I went in an ambulance to the emergency room for precautionary reasons. By the time I was out of the hospital (with a mild concussion and a bruised shoulder), it was almost 9pm.

The ride home from the hospital was about an hour, but as soon as I got home, and against my better judgement and advice from my family, I quickly changed out of my work clothes and into my running gear. Without waiting around, I got out the door for a really slow and easy one mile run in the dark.

This is without a doubt the day that I have come closest to ending the running streak. Even though the smartest decision might have been to end the streak that day, I’m happy that I didn’t.

The day still serves as a good reminder of how quickly things can change. And it’s also a good reminder to run in the morning before work instead of waiting until after!

Day 919 – Virtual Day of 5kms

A couple of months into Covid lockdown in May 2020, my friend from England, Mark asked me if I wanted to spend a Saturday running a 5k at the beginning of each hour for as many hours as we could. The goal would be to make it 12 hours (or 60km/37 miles) and just see how it went.

I knew it could be a difficult day if the temperatures got warmer, but having had races cancelled and not knowing when the next real event would be, I jumped at the chance.

We started at the same time (10am UK time for Mark and 5am my time) and checked in with each other after each 5k was complete. As the first few hours went on, I started to find a nice rhythm and actually started to believe that I could make it the full 12 hours. But unfortunately with the temperatures rising, that feeling was short-lived.

Ultimately, I made it 8 hours for 40km (about 25 miles) and Mark completed all 12 hours while I was virtually cheering him on from 3,500+ miles away.

This day is memorable because it was the beginning of a new friendship and it showed me how great the virtual running community could be. Now, three years later, Mark and I have run together in person a few times and we ran in a similar event last summer near where he lives in England, where we completed the marathon distance together.

Hopefully, the next time we run together isn’t too far away!

Day 1,702 – Streaking through History

Kristen is another friend I met through Instagram and the virtual running community. He is about 2 weeks behind me in our running streak and over the last couple of years we’ve helped motivate each other when needed. When I decided I was going on vacation to England last year, I knew that we should try to meet up for a run.

We decided to meet in Northumberland, England, where Kristen could take me on a running tour of sorts of Hadrian’s Wall. If you don’t know, Hadrian’s Wall was built about 1,900 years ago and served as the northern boundary of the Roman Empire.

Needless to say, I was excited about the opportunity to run somewhere that I had wanted to visit for years. And to have a ‘local’ friend run with me and show me around made it something I was looking forward to even more.

On the day, it was a tough run because of the terrain and the hills. But it is definitely one of my favorite runs during my run streak because of the views, the history and the company.

And it was so cool to run with someone so close to the same running streak day as me!

Day 696 – Heidelberg Sunrise run

In 2019, I visited Germany to run in the Munich Marathon but also to spend some time in my birth country.

During the trip, I visited Heidelberg, my birth city. I had been back a couple of other times since I lived there, but this was the first time that I would run there and that alone made me excited to be back.

When I arrived, I went to the small town outside of Heidelberg where my family and I lived for a few years. I parked my car in my old neighborhood and went for a run past our old house and a few of the surrounding streets. Even though I don’t remember living there (we left when I was 4 years old), I have seen pictures so many times that it felt as if I remembered – if that makes sense.

Then, the next morning, back in Heidelberg, I woke up early for a short run while it was still dark. After running a couple of miles, I stopped on the main bridge in Heidelberg to begin walking back to my hotel. But as I stopped, I realized the sun was starting to come up, so I decided to wait and watch the sunrise.

As the minutes went on, I was treated to one of the best sunrises I have ever seen.

I will never forget standing on the bridge for 20-30 minutes watching the sunrise. And I will remember, as I stood there almost 40 years after I was born in that city, being so happy and grateful to have the chance and the desire to run in so many cool places and have so many great experiences.

Day 1,066 – 32 Miles in a Day

For a few years now, I have been a part of the Dad Bod Jog Club. You might recall a few other posts, where I have written about the club and the challenges that it puts on.

The motivation and encouragement from everyone in the club has been great since the day that I joined.

In October 2020, they put on a challenge called “DBJC Big Push 4 Miler”. The idea was simple – run 4 miles at the beginning of each hour for as many hours as possible.

Similar to the 5k day (Day #919), I felt decent on the 1st few ‘loops’, but then lost steam and called it quits after 8 hours.

I don’t remember what my goal for the day was or if I even had one, but by completing 8 hours I had run 32 miles that day.

That was and still is the most miles I have done in one day.

At the time, I had only been a part of the club for a few months, but I remember how great the group chat was throughout the day. Everyone was pushing and motivating each other to keep going for as long as they could, but when someone decided to stop running, everyone was just as supportive and congratulated the runner on a great day.

I have no idea how much longer I will continue running every day.

I also have no doubt that no matter how long I continue my running streak, I will have other memorable running days that I will add to these ones.

These days and experiences are really what all of this is about to me!