1,119 Days of Forward Motion: Why I Haven’t Missed a Run Since Jan 1, 2023
It’s been over 1,200 days since I last hit “publish.” Since my last post in August 2022, the world has felt like it’s in a state of constant, dizzying flux. Digital spaces have grown quiet, and even the air seems to feel different. For a long time, I didn’t know how to bridge the gap between who I was then and who I am now.
But while this blog sat still, my feet did the opposite. On January 1, 2023, I made a quiet, personal pact: Just show up. Rain or shine, I would run at least one mile every single day. Today marks Day 1,119 of that unbroken promise.
“Everybody’s Changing, and I Don’t Feel the Same”
Lately, I’ve had Keane’s “Everybody’s Changing” playing on a loop during my morning miles. There’s a particular weight to the lyrics when you’re deep into a streak: “Trying to make a move just to stay in the game… I try to stay awake and remember my name.”
In the years since I was last active here, I’ve watched the world shift. People reinvent themselves or fade away. Sometimes, I felt like the only one trying to hold onto a single thread of consistency. Running every day became my way of “remembering my name.” It wasn’t just a workout; it was an anchor.
The Data of Discipline
If you follow me on Garmin Connect, you’ve seen the “green sea” of my calendar. Since the Run Streak badge was introduced in October 2023, I have earned it 28 times. That is the maximum possible for anyone on the platform—proof that I haven’t blinked once. I’ve reached Level 6 with 662 points, but the numbers are just the surface. Underneath is a set of principles I’ve lived by:
1. Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments. 2. What we do in life echoes in eternity. 3. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.
A Full Circle Moment: Day 780
These principles came to life on February 18, 2025. I was on Day 780 of my streak when I stood in the National Hockey Stadium in KL to see Green Day. I’ve been a fan since my boarding school days, and hearing them live was a moment I’ll cherish for a lifetime.
When the acoustic chords of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” began, it felt like a tribute to those first 780 days. Every mile run in the dark, every early morning—it all built toward that one perfect moment. It reminded me that even if “everybody’s changing,” the choices we make today—what we do—really does echo long after the song ends.
From the Deep Blue to the Maxwell Trail
This journey has taken me beyond the pavement and into the open water, swimming through the currents of Langkawi, Tioman, Perhentian, and Kota Kinabalu. There is a peace in the ocean that teaches you to trust the flow—to believe that if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.
But the biggest test of that belief is my return to the Malaysia Ultra-Trail by UTMB in Taiping. My first attempt in 2024 was cut short by a red flag and a torrential downpour. At the time, I had to accept that it “wasn’t meant to be” that day. But “meant to be” doesn’t mean giving up; it means waiting for the right moment to strike again. I’m going back to Taiping this year to finish what I started. I have more grit in my soul and 339 more days of running in my legs since that Green Day concert.
The Choice to Stay
People ask why I bother with a “minimum one mile” rule. It’s because that one mile is where I find my moments. It’s where I create the echoes that I want to leave behind.
1,119 days down. Day 1,120 starts tomorrow. The world will keep changing, but I’ll keep running. It’s something unpredictable, but in the end, it’s right.
Is there a moment in your life that you’ll cherish forever? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.
