Looking for a little motivation to kickstart your week? Meet Charity Miles member Doug McAbee. Doug, an Associate Professor of Art at Lander University, ran every single day for an incredible 6.5 years! We recently had the opportunity to speak to Doug where we learned what motivates him to keep running after all these years!
“I’m 46, married with 2 kids and I work at Lander University in South Carolina. I’m also an artist. I ran a little in college to fight away all the pizza but when I graduated the pizza won. I would run occasionally but never in any serious or devoted way until my late 30s. As I got older, I wanted to run to stay healthy and once I was running regularly again, I remembered how much I loved running.”
A move to a new area gave Doug the push he needed to begin running with more consistency. “When I took this job at Lander, my family and I moved out into the country on about 10 acres of land. I started running around the perimeter of our property and it was so simple to just walk out the door and run that I started to run more often. Before I knew it, I was running every day. After a few weeks, I noticed that I hadn’t missed a day so I thought I’d see how long I could go. That was 6.5 years ago now!”
When asked about his motivation to keep his streak alive for over 6 years Doug stated, “My inspiration for the running streak was just trying to be healthy and fit. I have a sweet tooth and I’m not known for eating very healthily so running was a way for me to balance my eating habits! I love the freedom of running. I love the feeling of my body moving through the wind. I look forward to the quiet time to think.”
Doug was introduced to the app when he stumbled upon Charity Miles when scrolling through Instagram in 2016. “I wish I could remember what running friend’s profile I saw the Charity Miles hashtag on, but that was a while ago. Instagram has connected me with so many wonderful running friends around the world and so many of them are generous, kind souls.” Since first using the app Doug has logged an impressive 2,278 miles!
A typical workout for Doug is an early morning 5k each day. “ I run with the wildlife out here in the country so I see deer, rabbits, foxes, and the occasional skunk, as well. In addition to my daily 5k, I started a running group with my art students at Lander. Once each week a group of us will use the Charity Miles app and run an additional 3.1 miles on campus. It’s a great way to get college students active, share what I love with them, and introduce them to using their miles to help charities.”
When asked why he uses Charity Miles as opposed to other apps out there Doug responded, “When I looked into Charity Miles for the first time and saw how they helped charities and also looked out for their members, I was hooked. I love the idea of using exercise to help charities – everyone wins. Giving to and helping charities is important to my wife and we want to teach that to our kids. When I get my kids to run or walk with me, I let them select their own charity on the app.”
Doug typically supports Habitat For Humanity when using the app. “This is a charity we’ve supported through our church in the past and one that we know helps people in our local community. Lander University has even built a couple of Habitat Houses on campus in recent years so we’ve been able to support them in other ways as well.”
His remarkable running streak came to an end this summer after a hernia sidelined him for a few weeks. “On July 11, I got up early and ran my last daily 5K for a while. I had hernia repair surgery later that morning and my surgeon told me to take several weeks off from running. After a week of recovery, my kids and I were back out on the trail walking very slowly. I worked back up to walking 3.1 miles every day and then on August 17 I was cleared to run again. I couldn’t wait to lace up my Hokas and go for a run that afternoon! That was the first day of my new run streak.” Good luck on your new streak Doug!
You can follow Doug’s running experiences through his regularly updated blog at hermitshead.blogspot.com or on Instagram at @dougmcabee.
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