Nothing could keep 78-year-old former Olympian Ron Hill from running every day for over 52 years. Not illness, not a car accident, and not even surgery.
From December 21, 1964 until January 28, 2017, the English runner kept his streak alive, and it wasn’t “at least one mile per day.”
“Some people say, ‘He’s run at least one mile a day,’ and I get really annoyed about this because it’s very infrequently that I’ve run one mile in a day,” Hill said. “The last time was when I was in a head-on car crash, and I my sternum broke into two, and all I could manage [the day] after that was one mile. Normally, my minimum is two-and-a-half miles.”
The same year he was involved in that car accident, he ran immediately after having bunion surgery. Upon being released from the hospital, he went to a track, logged a mile using two canes, and pressed on with the streak in a customized cast.
He also embedded another streak into his big one. Starting on December 22, 1964, he ran twice a day except on Sundays, when he ran once a day. He kept that streak going for 26.2 years.
This is the longest recorded running streak in history. However, it ended late last month due to a health issue.
“In a statement released by Streak Runners International, Hill, who suffers from an undiagnosed heart problem, said that after less than 400 meters Saturday, “my heart started to hurt and over the last 800 meters, the problem got worse and worse. I thought I might die but just made it to one mile in 16 minutes and 34 seconds. There was no other option but to stop. I owed that to my wife, family and friends, plus myself.” (Washington Post)
Hill’s consistency is what everyone is talking about now, but he also set a course record at the 1970 Boston Marathon when he ran the legendary race in 2:10:30.
So what can runners, especially new ones, take away from Hill?
His advice: “Start off slowly…Just start off by running one mile or even less. Run three lamp posts and then walk three lamp posts so you get into it.”
You never know where it will lead.
