Consistency Matters

Town Moderator Alan Foulds is known for his steady and even-handed approach when it comes to running Town Meeting. He’s been at it now for 29 years and counting. For his running club, Mystic Runners, Alan has published a weekly newsletter, chronicling the clubs events and race results for 18 years. You might say consistency is a high priority for him.

Alan’s is about to reach a milestone in his running career as well. If the stars align and his luck holds out, he will complete ten years of a running streak on Friday, 11/7: That’s ten years (3,653 days) of lacing up his sneakers and covering a minimum of two miles every single day, no matter the weather or any other obstacles.

In the United States Active Running Streak List, he is #842 in the country, #29 in Massachusetts, and #10 in Middlesex County.

Alan and his sidekick, Ace (who is now a walker) are planning to celebrate Alan’s accomplishment by running a two mile loop via Woburn, Perkins and Prescott Streets, beginning at Marathon Sports on Main Street . They invite anyone who would like to join them in marking this milestone to show up in front of the store this Friday, 11/7. We plan to cross the starting line at 6:30 pm, rain, shine or whatever.

An additional note from Alan:

“I didn't start out hoping to reach this milestone. Back in 2015, my goal was pretty simple. I wanted to run 33 days in a row because my records showed, at the time, that my old record was 32.  After that, it was only a couple of weeks until Christmas, so I kept going. Then, it was the end of the year. Then 100 days, and so forth. Before you know it, ten years had gone by.

Also, I've found that running every single day is easier than any other plan. Weather or mood or schedule no longer are factors. There’s no decision to be made. I just do it, just as I would brush my teeth.”