I went on a run every single day from April 1st through July 31st. It didn’t matter how far, or how fast; all that mattered was that I went on a run every single day. In the end, it was 4 months straight of running. 122 unique routes and it all started with me running every day in April.
Once those 30 days of April ended, I thought I would take a day off, but instead, I kept the streak alive throughout May, making it 61 days straight.
After two straight months of running, I decided it would be a challenge to make it to 100 days. The plan was now to run for 100 days straight, no days off. At this point, it really wasn’t too bad to keep running every day.
On June 13th, I wanted to go on a long-ish run, maybe about 20 miles. The plan was to head up toward Evanston, run around Northwestern’s campus and then head back along the river. I had never been to Northwestern and I was blown away by the beauty of it. I snagged a few pics, so check out the awesome campus below. I was feeling pretty darn good about halfway into the run around 11 miles, cruising along, listening to some podcasts. Making my way back down the river, I was still feeling strong around 18 miles. At this point I was still 3 miles from home. I figured this would put me at least at 21 miles. I have always wanted to run a marathon, why not today? The weather was perfect, probably mid 60s. After doing a lap at the track just south of Foster, I ran down past Horner Park towards Lane Tech to Belmont. I took Belmont east to Damen and headed north to finish up the last 3 miles of the run. I finished at Winnemac Park. 26.22 miles in 3 hours and 27 minutes and 47 seconds. Marathon complete! I finished my first ever marathon with 0 fans, 0 bathroom breaks, 0 food and 0 water. Apartment keys as a medal! What a day!
I was pretty much addicted to running at this point and cruising along, then on day 82, with 18 days left, I decided I would try to hit 500 miles by 100 days. With these 18 days left, I was still about 120 miles away from the goal of 500. Quite the task ahead. This is when the running turned into a challenging job for me.
I pounded the pavement for the last 18 days, running an average of 6.62 miles a day to make it to 500. If you follow me on Instagram (MalutaVision) then you may have seen some of my cryptic story posts with # in #. This simply was the number of miles left to run in the number of days left to reach the 500 in 100. Here were some of those fun posts.
On Day 100, Rachel and I ran exactly 1.97 miles to achieve 500 miles in 100 days! Mission Complete. What a trip!
I thought I was going to take a day off after day 100, but Rachel was out of town and I ran a mile to get a burger I had ordered on July 10. This was my shortest run of the 122 days, but I kept the streak alive once again.
At that point, I decided to run for the remainder of July, which also was the remainder of our time in Chicago, taking me to 122 days straight.
With July officially over, I had ran a third of the year in a row - April 1st to July 31st. Zero days off. 600 miles in 122 days, averaging just about 5 miles a day. Here are few of my memorable runs.
Ran 1 marathon
Ran 4 half marathons
Ran over 10 miles on 12 of the 122 runs (just under 10%)
Longest Runs - 26.22, 14.11, 13.27
Shortest Runs - 1.01, 1.97, 2.00
Poop Run - As I was finishing off my second month of running, on May 31st, I had an emergency bathroom break 8 miles into a 12.5 mile run. I ended up finding a covered spot amongst some trees in the middle of a Park in Chicago and took a poop in the woods. I had no underwear and nothing to wipe with. Surprisingly this was the only time I had to use the bathroom on a run in emergency fashion in my 122 days.
8 mile run up and around Loyola University with Rachel, Beth & Mickey
Run Around Wrigley to Margie’s for Ice Cream with Rachel and Beth followed by a walk home
Half Marathon with Rachel south down Lake Shore to North Ave and back. The water level was so high and no one was on the beach!
Half Marathon past Lorie Lightfoot’s house (I didn’t know at the time), through Logan Square, to the 606, down the 606 (first time) and back home. Drink Basic.
Pretty Chicago nature preserve park runs and construction everywhere
Running in the rain more than a handful of times
Mile runs around the track near North Park University
Running along the North Branch River (North and South) and around Lane Tech HS
Last week in Chicago, running to my favorite spots on a 10 mile run trying to soak it all up, I’ll miss this beautiful city
Final day in Chicago, running 6.76 miles to the lake and back, apartment view and moving crew
Running in the suburbs for my last six runs. Music is much needed on these “boring” runs. It just takes so much longer to see any change in scenery compared to the city. Old Plank Trail is great! Don’t be a Wiener!
My final run took place in Naperville with Beth. Look how happy I was to be done with running! Mission complete….Again…
Below you will find a list and maps of every single one of my runs. I never once ran the same exact route and distance. It was a fun and amazing experience to explore new and different neighborhoods in Chicago.
April 1 - 3.00 miles
April 2 - 2.00 miles
April 3 - 3.00 miles
April 4 - 2.50 miles
April 5 - 4.00 miles
April 6 - 3.10 miles
April 7 - 3.50 miles
April 8 - 3.24 miles
April 9 - 2.00 miles
April 10 - 3.08 miles
April 11 - 10.00 (4+6) miles
April 12 - 3.68 miles
April 13 - 2.59 miles
April 14 - 5.00 miles
April 15 - 4.06 miles
April 16 - 3.00 miles
April 17 - 3.85 miles
April 18 - 11.01 miles
April 19 - 3.11 miles
April 20 - 3.00 miles
April 21 - 6.24 miles
April 22 - 2.00 miles
April 23 - 2.36 miles
April 24 - 4.44 miles
April 25 - 3.34 miles
April 26 - 13.27 miles
April 27 - 3.00 miles
April 28 - 7.15 miles
April 29 - 4.28 miles
April 30 - 5.20 miles
April total: 130.00 miles
May 1 - 3.00 miles
May 2 - 6.00 miles
May 3 - 4.41 miles
May 4 - 3.00 miles
May 5 - 3.33 miles
May 6 - 3.11 miles
May 7 - 3.60 miles
May 8 - 4.01 miles
May 9 - 3.07 miles
May 10 - 6.25 miles
May 11 - 3.49 miles
May 12 - 3.10 miles
May 13 - 3.33 miles
May 14 - 3.00 miles
May 15 - 4.46 miles
May 16 - 4.50 miles
May 17 - 3.54 miles
May 18 - 3.00 miles
May 19 - 10.00 miles
May 20 - 3.00 miles
May 21 - 5.25 miles
May 22 - 6.21 miles
May 23 - 4.25 miles
May 24 - 5.00 miles
May 25 - 8.00 miles
May 26 - 5.00 miles
May 27 - 4.00 miles
May 28 - 4.01 miles
May 29 - 5.78 (3.78+2) miles
May 30 - 8.88 miles
May 31 - 12.42 miles
May total - 150.00 miles
June 1 - 4.20 miles
June 2 - 2.00 miles
June 3 - 3.20 miles
June 4 - 4.12 miles
June 5 - 4.24 miles
June 6 - 3.05 miles
June 7 - 6.75 miles
June 8 - 3.00 miles
June 9 - 3.1 miles
June 10 - 4.33 miles
June 11 - 4.00 miles
June 12 - 3.30 miles
June 13 - 26.22 miles
June 14 - 3.25 miles
June 15 - 3.50 miles
June 16 - 4.00 miles
June 17 - 3.24 miles
June 18 - 3.30 miles
June 19 - 3.14 miles
June 20 - 3.64 miles
June 21 - 5.24 miles
June 22 - 3.19 miles
June 23 - 5.10 miles
June 24 - 10.00 miles
June 25 - 8.08 (5.08 + 3) miles
June 26 - 7 miles
June 27 - 13.11 miles
June 28 - 8 miles
June 29 - 6.90 miles
June 30 - 7.80 (6.04 + 1.76) miles
July total - 170.00 miles
July 1 - 5.45 miles
July 2 - 4.60 miles
July 3 - 14.10 miles
July 4 - 4.44 miles
July 5 - 2.11 miles
July 6 - 2.22 miles
July 7 - 2.00 miles
July 8 - 13.11 miles
July 9 (Day 100) - 1.97 miles
100 day total - 500.00 miles
July 10 - 1.01 miles
July 11 - 3.33 miles
July 12 - 6.75 miles
July 13 - 2.01 miles
July 14 - 3.33 miles
July 15 - 3 miles
July 16 - 3 miles
July 17 - 3.1 miles
July 18 - 6.5 miles
July 19 - 2.5 miles
July 20 - 3.43 miles
July 21 - 2.22 miles
July 22 - 3.11 miles
July 23 - 4.75 miles
July 24 - 10 miles
July 25 - 6.76 miles
July 26 - 3.21 miles
July 27 - 6 miles
July 28 - 8.96 miles
July 29 - 10.03 miles
July 30 - 3.08 miles
July 31 - 3.92 miles
July day total - 150.00 miles
122 day total - 600.00 miles
Benefits I found from daily running:
Clears the mind, makes you feel good inside and out (I ran without music/podcasts to get away from it all, however, once moving to the suburbs, I found I needed something to distract me since there isn’t nearly as much to look at).
Consistent, quick exercise, and relatively easy. It was nice to be able to go outside and get fresh air every day. Whether my run was 15 minutes or an hour long, it felt great to do.
Working out = stronger legs and healthier heart from cardio (I usually don’t workout, especially legs)
Something to do and look forward to every day; and you can do it alone or with friends (a new way to explore your neighborhood and build lasting memories)
Gets you off the couch and outside of your home! Coronavirus lockdown specific: I ran in the street to be 6+ feet from everyone
Struggles I found from daily running:
It can be harsh on the body, especially after a faster or longer run. I did find that mixing in slower and shorter runs as a “recovery” day was a smart way to be able to still run every day. Sometimes my body even felt less sore once I got into my run.
Weather - Granted I ran during the best months in Chicago (outside of April), it was tough to motivate myself to get out there on rainy or cold days, but always did. Set a goal!
I highly recommend everyone try a 30 day running challenge of some sort to start. Run/Walk at least 1 mile a day for an entire month. You won’t regret it!
My Gear
I used a Garmin Forerunner 35 watch for all of these runs which has GPS built in, so I did not need to carry my phone with on my runs. It is pretty affordable at only $99.
I wore mostly Nike or Lulu Lemon running shorts, along with dri-fit material shirts or tank tops when it got extra steamy out. For my socks I used basic cotton socks, and if you wanna know the dirty details, I sometimes wore underwear and other times just used the built in stuff on the running shorts. I probably wore a hat (Nike Running or Patagonia) on about half of my runs too.
These are the shoes I wore for every single run. I picked them up on an end of year sale for $30. Puma Ignite Flash Evoknit shoes to be specific. I never had to retie these shoes, as I slipped them on and off when going on my runs. Probably not the best for the feet, but 600 miles later, it might be time to get some new ones.
Bonus side note: At some point in May I decided to do an experiment where I shaved half of my body to see what would result in more sweat. Although the results were essentially inconclusive, it seemed that the shaved side resulted in a small amount more perspiration.
And that concludes my 4 month running journey. 600 miles in 122 days.
I officially took a day off of running on August 1st, but I rode a bike… See you on the next blog for how I rode a bicycle everyday in August.
Josh