This December has been my introduction to run streaking (running every day for a given period of time). I had never previously heard of streaking as a form of training motivation until seeing a post about Marcothon shared on Facebook. The goal was to run for at least 25 minutes, or 5k – which ever came first, every day of December (including Christmas day). Inspired, I joined the Marcothon Facebook and Strava groups.

The power of social media and running is that it appeals to those of us who;

•  need accountability to maintain consistent training
• are too stubborn to quit things once publicly committed, and
• enjoy being a part of something bigger than ourselves.

It would be so easy after a draining day at work to simply cycle home and curl up in front of Netflix. However, with Marcothon, I had to get straight back out into the darkness and into my rhythm. The incentive is being part of a group with a mutual goal. The reward is, at first, sharing your streak with people from all across the world, having their support and supporting their efforts in return. However, the further you get into the streak the reward becomes how good you feel, the gains in your splits, and the improvements in your running form. In running every day you learn to run with better technique, as with reduced recovery time it will hurt not to! There is no pressure to run fast or far because you know you will be running tomorrow.