Bob CollinsWe apologize in advance if John Liepa’s story makes you feel bad about your comparative lack of stick-to-it proficiency.
Lipea started running in 1977, and he hasn’t missed a day since, the Des Moines Register says.
A black bear in northern Minnesota couldn’t stop him. Neither did a hospital stay. Or a tornado. Or a blizzard. Or any number of things that keep the rest of us indoors in the fetal position.
His streak has passed 15,000 days.
He tore ligaments in his knee in 1970 and started running to build it back up.
He still has a way to go to catch up to Jon Sutherland of California, who is believed to have the longest streak in running. He started on May 26, 1969.
Running helped take his mind off the world but his wife is worried having a streak is it’s own kind of pressure.
“Sometimes I think he should just run and not worry about the streak anymore,” she said. “I worry that he will trip or get hit by a car, and I think that he would really be depressed because he didn’t quit on his own terms.”
