Running is sometimes a story of hype and trends, pushed by this or that magazine. You may have already come across an article about streak running, a craze brought over from the English-speaking world. “Streak” basically means an ongoing series, so the idea is simple, run every single day of the year, at least 1 mile (1.6 km).
Running daily can be a great way to build a routine, but streak running can also become risky over the medium term. Let’s look at those risks, and why doing sport or physical activity every day can actually be the smarter, more sustainable option for endurance athletes.
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Where streak running started: he ran every day for 52 years
Briton Ron Hill ran every day from 1964 to 2017. Disappointed with a 19th-place finish in the 1964 Olympic marathon, he decided to train harder, and never take a rest day again. The 1970 Boston Marathon winner is said to have run for 19,032 consecutive days. Only illness forced him to stop, at the age of 78.
Streak running became a more mainstream lifestyle in the UK and the United States during the first Covid-19 lockdown. The commonly accepted minimum is running 1 mile, or 1.6 km, every day.
There is even an association that tracks streak runners. You have to run for at least one full year in a row to become a member of Streak Runners International.
The benefits of running every day
Running every day has one clear advantage, it spreads your training volume across multiple sessions. Your body will generally absorb, say, 30 km split into 7 runs much better than 30 km in a single outing.
When you’re coming back from an injury, easing in with 20 to 30-minute runs, alternating 5 minutes running and 1 minute walking, helps your body get used to impact again progressively.
When you run every day, you also stop debating whether you’re going to run or not, you just go. For building consistency and a training routine, streak running can be an interesting approach.
That said, if you’ve had a brutal day at work and it’s pouring outside, it’s probably wiser to skip the run than to force yourself out reluctantly, especially if it’s just to jog 2 km to keep your streak alive. Sometimes you run because it’s on the training plan, but motivation should still be there most of the time.
You can replace a run with a short indoor strength and conditioning session (PPG) or some yoga to feel good. And it can be just as beneficial, if not more, for performance, recovery, and long-term endurance training consistency.
Telling yourself you’ll do some form of sport every day is generally healthier. Even if you’re sick, especially with a fever, you can still do a few stretches or a bit of yoga. Avoid stressing your cardiovascular system when you’re ill.
The risks of streak running
If your knee hurts, or worse, you’ve got a muscle tear, and you absolutely want to keep your streak going, are you going to run anyway? Injuries often require some rest. Not always complete rest, but they are also a signal from your body that you need to respect.
Forcing yourself to run no matter what makes you less likely to listen to your body. Running can create micro-trauma, and rest helps tissues repair and adapt. In a structured training plan, recovery, and sometimes a rest day, are just as essential for progress and injury prevention.
To improve in running, you need to spend a good part of your week in easy endurance (Zone 2), meaning low intensity. Speedwork is also useful to boost performance, but it should always include at least 15 to 20 minutes of warm-up beforehand.
If you want to make progress, it’s often more effective to do 3 or 4 structured training sessions per week rather than 7 runs all at the same intensity. Find more details on how many runs per week you need to improve.
Prioritize cross-training
When I was running 1500 m for the French national team, I did a month of streak running with 10 training sessions per week, sometimes running twice a day. The goal is to create physiological adaptations from repeated training stress. But the fatigue is significant, and rest days before competition season were crucial to show up in top form.
With a bit of perspective, and now that I’m convinced of the value of cross-training, I think it would have been more beneficial to replace some runs with cycling.
If you want to try streak running and run every day, go for it. Just make sure you listen to your body and consider swapping a run for another sport or some yoga from time to time. Your body and your mind will thank you, no doubt about it.