We Ran Every Single Street In This Town
Hi, I'm Sarah.
And today I'm going to be running every single street in this neighborhood.
That's 7,630 meters to cover with 19 dead ends
as well. Sounds pretty fun, right? Well, if that's not enough for you,
I'm also going to be racing against the clock.
So I have 45 minutes to complete this challenge.
Now we regularly get comments from you, The Running Channel community,
asking us how you can make running more affordable, more accessible,
and ultimately more fun.
So that is why we have teamed up with our friends at Decathlon in order to do
this challenge. Much better.
I'm going to show you how to put the fun in fun run.
Can't believe I just said that. Let's do this.
Okay. Watch is ready to go. Run every street.
Start the watch. Start the clock. Let's do this.
So how did this all come about? Well, the Running Channel team challenged me
to come up with ways to make running a little bit more fun and to help keep
training interesting.
And what better way to start than to start off by running every single street in
this neighborhood. But, not only that, as I do this run,
I'm going to be telling you seven more ways that you can keep your training fun,
exciting, and enjoyable. Let's do this. So I promised you tips.
And tips you are going to get. If running every street isn't your bag,
then there are plenty more challenges out there.
I have followed my watch for an entire month, raced an Olympian in real-life
monopoly. There are so many different challenges out there,
and we've also got our own trail scavenger hunt challenge from the Running
Channel, which you can actually download the little challenge
finder sheet from our website. So go have a look at that.
And if you are stuck for even more challenges than why not check out our challenge
playlist for more inspiration.
I think it's about time for another tip.
And this one, I've given it a catchphrase: dress to fluoresce.
I think it might catch on, you know. If that's not a cool phrase,
what I mean by that is it's always a better run
if you love the kit that you are running in. I mean,
I am wearing bright clothes today, gone for a pink theme,
which carries through the whole outfit with hints of fluorescent
yellow to tie in as well.
And we love talking to you about kit the Running Channel community.
And you have always let us know how much you love Decathlon kit for how
affordable yet good it is.
And you might not realise how much science and research goes into the
making of their kit.
So if you want to find out more head to the link in the description to have a
browse, and let us know how you get on. I feel
like dress to fluoresce needs some kind of like theme tune to it,
like a dress to fluoresce, do do do doo.
But if that's not your bag,
you could even take it one notch further and go out in fancy dress or dress like
a panda like Kate did when she was training for her marathon. So much fun.
And you'll definitely get people saying hello to you. Dead-end number three.
Now this is a road that I would never usually run down. I'd looked down here,
see that it's a dead end and just carry on. But on the other side of that hedge,
there's a massive open field.
So you never know what you're going to discover by running every street.
That could be my favorite new trail run, which I wouldn't have discovered
had I not run down the cul-de-sac.
Haven't gone wrong yet. Then again, I am like three minutes in.
So there are lots of different ways that you can run every street. I've plotted
a route out on my watch. Um,
but you can also literally just head out for a run and turn down every single
street that you see and then match it up with a map
once you finished. Endless possibilities.
Round we go! You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a-
running, running, run round run round.
What's so lovely about this is that I'm doing this on a
quiet midweek morning.
There aren't loads of people out,
but it's such a small little place that you can say hello to people and get to
know people. And yes, it is slightly awkward when someone's out mowing
their lawn and you run down their road that they know is a dead end.
You know it's a dead end, and you just circle and come back.
But everyone here is so friendly.
Like one guy who's just like, oh, run a mile for me. And another one,
they're actively looking for you to say hello and good morning.
And I just don't get that on my normal runs.
So did I want to do 8K today when I woke up? No.
Am I excited now for the rest of this run? Yes. I think I count that as a win.
Running alone can be pretty boring.
So a great way to mix up your running is by adding a running buddy.
Come on Tom, catch up!
You can talk to them on shorter easier runs,
or you can pace each other on the tougher runs,
or you can just do a flat-out race. To that bin - go!
I just spotted there's a little footpath down there,
which I didn't know existed. So what makes this run automatically
more fun is that I've never run here before. This is all new.
I'm discovering new paths, new footpaths which I can go,
come back and do later on. And it's all really fun.
So why not, to spice up your running, explore just a little bit further than
you usually go. I bet there are loads of paths, foot paths,
roads that you haven't explored yet that are right on your doorstep.
I think I've done about 20 roads,
which is probably about 3K done. 3,
maybe 4K in. Enjoying it though.
It doesn't feel like I've gone that far though,
because a lot of it has been back and forth cul-de-sacs, but, oh well, it's fun.
One thing that I love about running is that we can use it to connect with the
community and to look after the places is that we run. Protect our playground,
if you will. And one way that you could do this is by plogging.
Now, if you don't know what plogging is,
it simply means picking up some rubbish and popping it in the bin,
or just collecting it as you run. By doing this,
you're not only looking after the places that you'll run,
but also feel great when you finish your run because you're helping protect
other people, where you live, and the planet. And it's so easy to do.
So why not give plogging a go when you're next out on your run. Tell you what
this is also great for -
If you want to buy a house and there's an area that you really like,
but, you know, you're not sure what road you want to live on,
or you don't feel like you've quite got the lay of the land yet, run every street.
One, you'll know your way around when you move in. And two,
there's always going to be, like, little 'for sale' signs.
tucked away that might not be on a website yet,
or you might've just missed that
you wouldn't see if you just drove through cause it's down a col-de-sac or
something like that. But like this one, for example,
why don't you drive down here unless you're visiting someone or running every
street. You could find your new house.
If you want to get creative with your runs,
then you might want to take a deep dive into technology.
There are lots of different apps and podcasts out there to make your runs a
little bit more exciting. My personal favorite is Zombies, Run!
Although, top tip, don't do that one in the dark. It's terrifying.
Another tip for you, and this one is so simple,
but I promise you it does work. And that is to smile. Yep.
It's literally as simple as that, just smile.
Smiling has been proven to enhance running performance. In fact,
there was even a study done with cyclists,
where they had to cycle to the point of exhaustion. Um,
and one half of the cyclists were shown smiley faces and the other half were
shown frowning faces, but they just flashed up on screen really quickly.
So they didn't know what they'd seen,
but the half of the cyclists that were shown smiley faces were able to cycle
for 16% longer.
So it is proven that smiling enhances running performance. And hey,
if you smile, people smile back. You'll be able to say hello to people,
feel happy and enjoy your run. What's not so like. I might be smiling,
but I gonna need to start getting serious now and hurry up
if I'm going to beat the clock, let's do this.
I'm into the home straight now. I'm picking up the pace because it's
40 minutes and 41 seconds into this run and I've got about
500 meters left to go. Can I do it?
The race is on.
Let's see whether I can run every street in under 45 minutes.
Come on, Sarah. Come on, Sarah. I don't know how long this bit of road is.
I can see the end. Four minutes, come on.
And stop the watch. Run every street,
completed it. 42 minutes and five seconds
to run every single street
in Orsett. That was fun.
That was so much more fun than what my session was supposed to be. And that was
supposed to be
an easy to steady kind of paced run. Um,
Oh, there we go.
Course complete. Well,
I think I smashed that challenge.
Have you ever tried the #runeverystreet challenge?
And are there any challenges that you want us to take on?
Let us know in the comments down below and we'll see you next time on the
Running Channel.
