#N3runstreak

#N3runstreak
By Alexis Mercer

I noticed today as I was perusing Instagram that the #RWrunstreak starts tomorrow. The writers and staff of Runner’s World have promoted the concept of running a minimum of 1 mile a day each day from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day.

I’ve never been a run streak kind of girl. Some people I know refer to it as consecutive days (CDs) rather than run streak. During marathon training I only ran five days a week. I felt like I needed (and enjoyed) two days a week of rest.

But I’m not training for a marathon right now. Instead I’ve been enjoying four days a week of varying distances at my leisure.

​I’m contemplating running the Fremont Frostbite in February. I ran it last year and though my partner in running crime is dealing with a hip injury, so she won’t be running with me, I’d like to support a local cross country team by participating.

I’d also like to run in the ChoiceOne Bank St. Nick Kick at Newaygo High School on December 1st (shameless plug), but I am the race director, so taking off for a 5k or 10k (or 1 mile walk/run) doesn’t really fly with Santa’s Elves!

Which puts me in need of a shorter term goal.

I think I’ll streak!

Who is with me?

The basics are simple. Every day from Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day you run at least one mile. That’s it! No required pace. No warm up or cool down or speed days or anything complicated. Just bundle up and enjoy the crisp, cool (ok fine downright cold) air 1 mile a day at a time.

In order to prove my participation, I’ll post a selfie - or at least a picture of my snowy shoes - after I’m done each day on Twitter (@LuckyMercer12 is the handle). I’ll use three hashtags with each of these posts:

#RWrunstreak
#noexcuses
#N3runstreak

I’ll tag Near North Now in each post along with posting the distance I ran. If you’d like to join in on the fun - use those hashtags! I’d love to see N3 readers on run streaks of their own.

This is all last minute (nothing like a last minute, spur of the moment decision), so if you see this a day or two or seven late but still want to start, don’t hesitate. Join in when you can!

I’m hoping this will be a different kind of challenge to get me outside every day, my body moving, and my mind refreshed during the sometimes hectic holiday season.

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