Streak: noun – an uninterrupted series, verb (used without object) – an act or instance of running naked through a public place.
Let’s review the noun form, especially regarding running.
Streak intervals are self-defining. They could be daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly intervals. They could be a group of events within a year and, by completing all, continue the streak.
Generally accepted running-related streaks include running at least a defined distance daily, completing a specific race (i.e., Boston Marathon) yearly, and completing consecutive races in a competitive series within and across multiple years.
My current active streaks are 30 years finishing a race of at least marathon distance, 15 years completing the Marine Corps Historic Half, and 32 race finishes in the Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix.
All streaks have some things in common:
You must stay healthy enough. For a specific race, you need to be healthy on race day. To maintain streaks, I’ve run with pulled hamstrings and head colds. I heard of people getting out of a sick bed at 11 pm to run their 3 miles. Then, they wait until midnight to run another 3 miles, giving themselves a day to recover.
You need to be constantly trained. It’s possible to maintain a streak without training year-round. I’ve found it’s easier never to lose conditioning. When younger, I tried to train constantly enough to run a marathon on a whim.
Your family needs to accept your streak goal. Or, you might not have a close family. In November 2005, when running up Rt 40 in the first couple of miles of JFK, I talked to Mike Adams, who had an active 34 JFK finish streak. I asked him how he worked the streak with his family. That weekend, a potential grandchild of his was due. He told me he agreed with his wife to drop out if he became injured. Unfortunately, I couldn’t negotiate the same agreement and have lived alone since 2006.
You need to have money. You’ll have entry fees and maybe travel expenses. You may have to sacrifice work income to maintain a streak. Choose wisely to minimize your financial impact when picking a streak to keep.
You need to have free time. A time-demanding job may impact daily running streaks and training requirements. For a racing streak, you must get off work for race weekend every year. Hopefully, you have a kind boss. The easiest way to guarantee free time is to work for yourself.
You need to be dedicated and motivated. If you are not focused on your goal, you won’t train or manage the logistics.
You need to be organized. Being comfortable with schedules and understanding race logistics will destress your adventures.
There are a few good organizations that maintain historical race results. These organizations can tell you every race finisher’s time from year one. Typically, these organizations will maintain official streak lists.
Otherwise, you will need to maintain your unofficial streak list. Unofficial streaks are self-defined and self-motivators.
Is there an organization that maintains daily running streaks? A daily running streak is running at least one mile per day. Some tell me the requirement is at least three miles per day. I need at least one day off per week and have been unable to maintain a daily running streak for more than a month. I wonder how people who travel keep their streaks. What happens when they cross the international date line?
The purpose of streaks is a motivator to set goals and keep active.
So, pick a race that is well managed, well attended, and has a long documented history. Hopefully, the race is logistically convenient. Set a goal and start a streak.
If you can find a race in its inaugural year managed by an organization with a long history, run that first race. You never know; 15 years and 15 finishes later, you may be the only original participant still completing the race. And you are 15 years healthy.
The act of steaking would not be considered a streak unless you did multiple runs in an uninterrupted series.