Streaking has become an increasingly popular phenomenon within running circles. Whether running one mile a day, or 20, streakers push for consistency.
By Anna Katherine Clemmons
Hellah Sidibe realized he was a streaker on his 163rd consecutive day of running.
A former professional soccer player, he had decided five months earlier to try to run 10 minutes a day for two weeks straight. The distance didn’t matter as long as he ran every day.
Once he started, on May 15, 2017, he didn’t want to stop.
In the 1,692 days since, he has become one of the sport’s most recognizable, and influential, run streakers, a designation loosely defined as an athlete who runs on consecutive days for a set period.
That wasn’t his intention.
Sidibe, 31, grew up playing soccer barefoot on dirt fields in Mali, where the focus was camaraderie. He played Division I soccer for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where his head coach had a mantra: “You may not be the best in the country — but you will be the fittest.” Sidibe began associating running with punishment, often a penalty for sloppy play or poor performances. In 2013, he signed a professional soccer contract with the Kitsap Pumas, a Seattle Sounders affiliate. But as his professional soccer dreams faded, he looked for a new physical challenge that he could pursue while also feeling a sense of purpose.
He set a running goal: Run every day for two weeks, no excuses. “I was afraid of it, and I wanted to hold myself accountable,” Sidibe said in explaining the choice.
After one week, he was hooked. He told his girlfriend, Alexa Torres, who is now his fiancée, that he could do it for the rest of his life. More than five months into his journey, with Torres’s encouragement, Sidibe began to document it on YouTube. “I didn’t know then that people did run streaking,” Sidibe said. “I just said, ‘I want to run every day for 365 days.’”
Followers sent him direct messages, and initially, he tried to respond to every one. But he began receiving too many each day to keep up. He still tries to engage as often as he can with followers, when time allows.
“What are you training for?” a commenter asked one day.
“To be the best, man,” Sidibe replied.
Sidibe ran for 365 days straight and avoided major injuries. He no longer saw running as a punishment; instead, it made him feel almost invincible. He didn’t monitor his pace as he ran loops around his neighborhood. He just ran until he felt satisfied. He ran through snowstorms, his hair frozen. He ran through rain and sleet. He ran past all excuses. Running indoors on a treadmill didn’t count. He had to run outside.
As he continued, he learned that he was far from alone in his quest.
Streaking has become an increasingly popular phenomenon within running circles. Whether running one mile a day or 20, streakers advocate consistency, and often lean on one another for motivation.
The Denver-based endurance athlete Robbie Balenger, who has accomplished many firsts in the ultrafeats of running, first heard about a run streaker several years ago, after reading an article in a running magazine. “But that was all I heard of it until Hellah,” Balenger said. “I feel like Hellah has really brought it into the mainstream.”
According to Streak Runners International and the United States Running Streak Association, some people have exceeded five decades of streaking. Atop the active run streak list is Jon Sutherland, 71, who has run for 19,211 consecutive days, or 52.6 years. And (likely) counting.
Robert Kraft, nicknamed Raven, holds a running streak of 45 years, according to Runner’s World, and doesn’t just run every day — he runs exactly eight miles each day.
Jason Banks, 42, decided to start a run streak after seeing Sidibe’s social media posts. Banks, a resident of Rochester Hills, Mich., reached out to Sidibe on Instagram, saying he hoped to carry out a run streak of 66 days. Sidibe responded, encouraging Banks and sharing advice.
Those 66 days turned into 731 — and counting. “Hellah is just a ball of sunshine,” Banks said. “He always has a great attitude and he’s very motivational. His mantra is ‘no matter the circumstances,’ and I have kept that in my head throughout my streak.”
That wasn’t always easy for Sidibe. In his second streak year, he had a posterior shin injury. He would return home from his run almost in tears. Still, he wouldn’t stop. Instead, he lowered his mileage, hoping that with less pounding, his body would heal. Over time, it did — and he kept going.
Enduring injury also brought a shift in attitude: Sidibe began to view running as a privilege. As he ran, he thought of the people who couldn’t, whether because of physical limitations, resources or other factors. He began dedicating his runs to various causes. An early race was dedicated to suicide awareness. His next race raised funds for a mother and daughter who were terminally ill.
After planning for more than a year, Sidibe entered 2021 with his next goal: running across the country — in 85 days or less. He planned to donate the money he raised to Soles4Souls, an organization that distributes shoes and clothing to people in need. His social media following had grown to 260,000 YouTubesubscribers and 75,000 Instagram followers (now up to 141,000). Torres had quit her full-time job to manage the filming and posting for each account.
As he researched his route, Sidibe learned that, if successful, he would be the first Black person to run across the entirety of the United States. He admitted that he was nervous beforehand about running through certain areas of the country. Several encounters, including with a white police officer in the Midwest, had left him shaken.
But he knew that the impact of his potential journey would be worth it. When he was a guest at the Boston Marathon in October, a Black man ran up to him, crying. “I can’t believe that you look like me and are doing this,” the man said. “Seeing someone who looks exactly like me has made me start running.”
On May 24, 84 days and 14 states after beginning his journey in Huntington Beach, Calif., Sidibe crossed the finish line in New York City. A mayoral, firefighter and police escort, along with a large group of runners, accompanied him from Rochelle Park, N.J., where he lives, into Manhattan.
“Being first is honoring, but what you do after is more important,” Sidibe said of the milestone.
He has now been streaking for more than four years. “Someone said to me, ‘There’s no way you ran every day for three years,’” Sidibe said, thinking back to a conversation he had a year ago. “My point is: I’m not special. It’s possible, I just decided to be consistent.”
He realizes that one day, his streak may end. When that happens, he’ll share the conclusion with his followers. But for now, he keeps going.
“It’s a big word to say, but running is life to me,” Sidibe said. “It’s strange to say that, because life is everything. But running makes me feel like we have tough days in life and we just don’t give up. You push through, and the good part will come.”