This week, Colorado-based runner Jax Mariash finished running for 365 consecutive days (and because 2012 was a leap year, she added a 366th day just to be safe). These weren’t junk miles, either. She logged 18-mile training runs and weekly track workouts in her 365-day running mission. She competed in races at an elite level and chased down personal records. She averaged over eight miles a day.
Her work with Native Eyewear required several weeks of travel across the country; she traveled to 54 cities, 15 states, and 2 countries during her year of running. Often, she ran in airports and along the snowy shoulders of roads. She once jogged up and down the stairs of her hotel for three miles.
Even more amazing are the setbacks she overcame: she broke two ribs while skiing, but pushed through the pain that evening to squeeze in a three-mile run. She endured heartbreaks, too, but kept running. How did she do it? She viewed her pain as small compared to the suffering of the people for whom she was running. Her 365 days of running was dedicated to cancer patients through LIVESTRONG. Her mission was clear and powerful: “To emotionally give back every day to those fighting for their lives, fighting for someone else along bedside, reflecting back at their own fight against cancer, or mourning a loss. If they don’t get a break, I don’t.”
Read more about Jax’s incredible year of running here.
