Yesterday marked four years of running at least a mile every day. 6,385 miles, averaging 4.37 miles a day. Longtime newsletter readers have put up with my annual post for the past three years talking about what a “running streak” is, and why it is important (to me alone!) Here’s one more blog, and since my daughter and I are embarking on a 2,600-mile hike in April, this could be the final annual streak post. We’ll see how many mornings on the Pacific Crest Trail that I can crawl out of a tent and go jogging before starting to hike!

1461 days (had a leap year) into a habit, I rarely ponder why I do it and never consider not doing it. It’s like coffee—my day ain’t starting unless the run gets done. Most of my jogging is done on a treadmill, which allows me to 1) avoid bad weather, 2) skip the decision of where to run and what to wear, and 3) listen to audiobooks. The last one might be the most important—I’ve read 61 audiobooks so far in 2025. My running streak helps me do one of the things I enjoy more than running!

This year had its challenges. I did four airport runs, a pre- and post- colonoscopy trot (ha ha), and 15 days of waking up in a tent and going for a jog. And only one day where a search and rescue mission went so long, I worried whether I might not get my run in.

In years past, I’ve run through back pain and COVID. I’m probably jinxing myself while writing this, but 2025 has been blessedly injury-free. Part of that relates to the running streak. Before I began running every day, I often took breaks in order to let body parts “heal”—a slightly pulled hamstring, a sharp pain in my calf, maybe a pulled back muscle. I still get those, but I don’t really count them as injuries anymore. When something hurts, I’ll slow my pace and maybe run one mile instead of four. It usually goes away in a couple of days.

Overall, running has made me healthier. I’ve got a pulse rate in the low 40s, and the daily activity helps keep the weight off. But everything I read says that at this age it might be better to focus more on lifting weights than on aerobic exercise. I do sit-ups and pushups every morning, but I don’t have a weightlifting routine. I’ve only got so many hours in the day. I figure I’ll weight (get it?) until something negatively impacts my running (it’s not an “if,” it’s a “when”) before looking at a lifting program.

If you’ve read this far, thanks for your attention. I know how valuable it us after reading Chris Hayes’s book The Siren’s Call about the new “attention economy.” In the meantime, I’m thinking about today—getting up earlier than normal (flying to WA to visit Mom!) and starting my fifth year of the streak.