11.28.2008

I Got Your Back-to-Back

Still Running After All These Years
By STEPHANIE SIMON


Last month, my dad celebrated the 30th anniversary of his running streak.

In other words, he has run every day for 10,987 consecutive days. The last time he took a pass -- he was feeling a bit sore after a marathon -- was Oct. 30, 1978.

Obsessive doesn't begin to describe it.

When he travels overseas, my dad, who is 66, plans layovers so he can get in a couple miles around the concourse, lest he miss a day to the time-zone shift. During blizzards, he wraps his feet in plastic bags, pulls galoshes over his sneakers and screws in cleats for traction. Then he waits for a snowplow to pass his front door, so he can follow in the freshly cleared path.

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