Cumberland resident Tom Lennox has been running a minimum of five kilometres every single day for nearly a year straight.
The 42-year-old mortgage broker mostly runs on trails behind his Camp Road home. Occasionally, he runs the Stanley Park seawall in Vancouver, where his partner lives, but he finds trail running to be easier on the body.
“It’s kind of my zen time to shut off the rest of the world,” said Lennox, who posts his runs on Facebook and Instagram. “I’m very much a solo runner.”
Feb. 7 will mark Day 366.
“Some days I go as much as 25, 30k. I set a goal for myself to do a minimum of 5k each day. Some days I feel like garbage. It’s a struggle, just telling myself over and over, ‘Just get to 5k’ and call it a day. I’m kind of stubborn that way.”
Lennox never saw himself as a runner until the day he decided to get off the couch. He’s been running off and on for about five years, but took it to the next level over the past year. He signed up for a couple of races, which were cancelled due to COVID. But he has completed a marathon, and a 50k ultra-marathon.
“This is a bit of a step up, just trying to commit to doing a daily thing over and over again. I think the pandemic almost motivated me to do that.”
Lennox has also been motivated by friends who have taken taken up the sport of triathlon, and completed ultras and Ironman competitions.
Others, in turn, have drawn inspiration from Lennox.
“His determination and consistency has been a much needed positive story of health throughout this past year,” his friend Shayna Weston said. “I have been inspired to maintain my own fitness because of his posts and running streak.”
Lennox plans to continue running — with an occasional day off — after he reaches the one-year mark.
Follow Lennox on Instagram: @ridingthespiral
Tom Lennox finds peace when he runs in the Cumberland Forest. He hasn't missed a day in nearly a year. Photo supplied
