A running streak is technically considered to be a consistent practice of running at least one mile every day without taking a rest day.
While most running streakers run more than a mile most days, it’s rare to find someone who runs a half marathon every single day, but that’s exactly what 48-year-old runner Mika Shevit has done.
For the past two years, without fail, Shevit has completed over 730 consecutive half marathons, one per day.
In doing so, he’s covered nearly 10,000 miles (16,093 kilometers), which is nearly one-third of the way around the Earth when traveling around the equator.
If you look at this another way, in just two months of running, Shevit ran the equivalent distance of roughly New York City to Sydney, Australia, or between London and Auckland, New Zealand.
His primary motivation behind his impressive running streak has been to demonstrate to his two kids the power of hard work, goal setting, and commitment.
Shevit is a real estate agent from southern Florida. He says that running in the humidity in the summer is certainly a challenge, but if there’s one thing Mika Shevit loves, it’s a challenge.
Shevit is not new to running streaks.
On October 30, 2020, Shevit’s Instagram post revealed that at that point, he had already completed 50 days of back-to-back half marathons and that he had run 465 consecutive days of at least 10 miles.
However, he ended up getting shin splints so he had to take a month off. On January 1, 2021, he restarted the challenge. Again, he got hurt. This time, he had injured his quad.
He says the third time was the charm. Shevit officially began his current half marathon per day challenge on April 1, 2021, and has been going ever since.
“No matter the day, week, or month, I am a man on a mission,” said Shevit on the Why We Marathon podcast.
Shevit shares that his favorite time of day to run is 4 am, and that running consistently at this time helps him get it done.
“I consider my runs like brushing my teeth. It’s so ingrained in my daily routine…Nothing stops me from wanting to run–absolutely nothing.”
Although Shevit has run some half marathon races during his streak, the majority of his runs are just run at a relaxed pace, and usually take about 1:45 to 2 hours.
On the podcast episode, Shevit says, “Since my runs are about endurance and not speed, I haven’t had any recovery issues.”
Shevit ran his first marathon in 2008 in Miami.
On the Why We Marathon podcast he admits that he was woefully unprepared for the race, having only trained for about two and a half months with a long run of just 15 miles.
In preparation for a marathon (26.2 miles), most training plans have runners covering at least 20 miles before race day.
“I just loved the challenge of running. I was an amateur. I had no idea what I was getting involved with.”
He said prior to his first marathon, he was not a runner. In fact, Shevit did not begin running until he was in his 40s. His workout routine only included heavy strength training.
However, shortly after his first marathon, he ran another marathon and was soon hooked.
Shevit quickly found that running not only transformed his body—helping him lose body fat and build muscle mass—but also his mindset.
“I learned that I am human. You go in with an ego, thinking you can just do it, and it really humbles you. And that’s what I like; I like to be humbled. I thought I could just go there and run and then move on. I wasn’t ready for it,” shares Shevit. “It really taught me a lesson that the marathon is a mental challenge, a physical challenge. It takes time, effort, and energy for anything you want to accomplish.”
Shevit reports that when he started the half marathon streak, his goal was to achieve 100 consecutive days.
He has currently logged more than 732 consecutive half marathons and has upped the goal to 1,000 consecutive half marathons. This will bring him to his ultimate goal on December 6, 2023.
You can follow all of Shevit’s running adventures on his Strava or keep up with his life on Instagram. He documents his runs and takes selfies, updating his followers with his current streak status and other highlights of his training.
