Ive decided to take up streaking, I told my boyfriend six weeks ago. Erm, excuse me? You what? he replied, panic creeping across his face. Streak running is not what it sounds like, but I admit I was going for the shock factor when I told him in a roundabout way. For a start, theres no nudity (sports bras are worn for a reason). Put simply, its running one mile every day. No breaks, not even to allow for hangovers or mild to moderate illness.
I stumbled across runeveryday.com and felt an affinity for the (perhaps a little crazy) group of people who do just that. For years. So I thought sign me up. For £13, I became an Associate Member.
I have to, without fail, run a mile a day, outside or on a treadmill, and log it somewhere (I tweet, @amylawrenson). Once Ive clocked 365 days, Ill be added to the International Streak List. A quick perusal of both active and retired lists revealed that no woman in the UK, or even Europe, has made it on to the list. So, £13 down, Im now the first UK woman to attempt streak running.
You might ask why not just run the standard three times a week? Fitness aside (seven miles a week is not to be sniffed at), it gives me a little time each day to think about what I need to do or how the dayhas gone. Oh, and Im competitive. I feel like I might actually make it to day 365 especially since I'm now past the half way mark (as I type this I'm about to embark on my 189th consecutive run). Especially when you compare it to Mark Coverts record of the longest US running streak he only just retired last month on his 45th anniversary. Ive got a long way to go to match that...
Are you tempted to take up streak running? Tweet us @ELLEukrunning or drop me a line @amylawrenson
