‘Doc’ now wants to complete a ‘comma’

Saipan International School headmaster Dr. Ron Snyder, seen here running with his dog Giligan, is the latest streak runner from Saipan. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Add Saipan International School headmaster Dr. Ron Snyder to the exclusive list of streak runners in the CNMI.

Snyder, who is also the distance running coach of Northern Marianas Athletics, said he returned to active running in the later part of 2019.

“In October 2019, Northern Marianas Athletics sent me to New Zealand for the Level 3 Middle and Long Distance Coaches Course. While there, I learned a tremendous amount and was introduced to an amazing group of coaches throughout Oceania. They inspired me to kick up my coaching game but also to get back into running myself,” he said.

The 55-year-old Auburn, New York native said the onset of the COVID-19 then led SIS to co-sponsor the Run The Marianas virtual challenge.

“My family formed a team and had a blast. We followed this up with some virtual challenges and I started to realize what a running journal should look like. It was also about this time that I got to know Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr. who is an avid streak runner. I thought about it for a while and then thought I would give this a try myself,” he said.

Snyder started conservatively with 1-mile-a-days before kicking it up a notch as the weeks and months piled up.

“The minimum distance for the streak is 1 mile, but once I started the 100 Days of Running Challenge out of India, I kicked it up to 2 kilometers a day. The longest distance I did was a 15K run.”

The hardest part of keeping the run streak alive came in the first two months, according to him.

“The initial thrill had worn off but I still had a long way to go to make my year. I did a lot of virtual challenges along the way and this helped break up the year. It also allowed me to run with my family across the world. My wife is here with me on Saipan but my oldest daughter is in Charlotte and my youngest is in Scotland.”

Snyder said there’s a lot of adjustments when you decide to take on the run streak challenge. First and foremost is the length of your runs.

“I think you need to realize that you need to run a bit differently if you don’t have the ability to take time off for recovery. So, it is very important to increase mileage slowly and to listen to your body and go down to the lowest mileage when you need to. Unless it is a serious injury, you can still do short, slow runs while you recover. Being on Saipan is a great place to be a streak runner. The heat definitely inhibits your ability to peak but it also means that there is no weather that you can’t run in…if you are willing to get a bit wet at times,” he said.

Snyder celebrated his one-year running streak last Dec. 30 but he’s not about to stop there.

“I knew I wanted to run for the entire 2021 but I actually started my streak on Dec. 30 on Rota. I completed a full year on a 5K run in Great Falls National Park, just outside of Virginia but I haven’t finished my streak. My goal now is to make a ‘comma’ or 1,000 days.”

He said aside from his family’s help he wouldn’t have completed his first 365 days of non-stop running without Dela Cruz, who this month will be celebrating his fifth year of running at least 1 mile a day.

“I would like to dedicated the streak to my family for joining me on so many virtual challenges and to Ed Dela Cruz Jr for always being supportive in my journey.”

Snyder also serves as secretary and treasurer of Run Saipan.