1 man, 6 years and 5,610 miles

Run Saipan president Edward Dela Cruz Jr., center, poses with fellow Run Saipan members after finishing his sixth year or 2,190 days of running at least one mile a day last Wednesday. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Chasing after Jon Sutherland’s running streak of 53.6 years is someone you may have seen regularly running the length of the Beach Road Pathway—Saipan’s Edward Dela Cruz Jr.—who has just accomplished running six years or 2,190 days, and 5,610 miles of running at least one mile a day in the evening of last Wednesday, Jan. 11.

Run Saipan’s president, surrounded by his close friends and club mates, ran 6 miles—1 mile per year that he has run consecutively—from the Beach Road Pathway across the Oleai track and field to the R&J Wine, Liquor, and Tobacco in Garapan and back.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune, the 31-year-old said that accomplishing six miles felt nothing short of great, “but to be honest, I’m so deep into the running streak it’s an everyday thing now. I look back now with what I have accomplished or contributed to the running community during my streak tenure.” In 2020, he created the only established premier running club in the CNMI, Run Saipan, with a growing number of members.

In the beginning of his run streak, Dela Cruz used to run the Beach Road Pathway religiously, finishing his 365th day on that route, but now, he runs anytime and anywhere he could get a run in. 

The firefighter 2 of the Airport and Rescue and Firefighting for the Commonwealth Ports Authority said that initially, he started running for weight loss, and that his friend, Rep. T.J. Manglona (R-Saipan) forced him to start running. “I didn’t intend to do a streak but it eventually came to that.”

Then, his close friend, Terence Leung inspired him to run everyday. Dela Cruz said, “I remember him telling me how he got faster by running 2 miles everyday for 60 days. I made 1 mile (not 2) everyday for 60 days, then it grew to 90. Then 100. Then 200. Then I thought maybe I can do 365. I never had any intention at the beginning for 365 days straight of running. I told myself I would retire in two years, but as you can see that is not the case. People who retired their streak, I have no idea how they did it. Trying to stop after the first 365 days is like telling a drug addict to quit his addiction.”

After the five-year streak threshold, Dela Cruz said that his inspiration to go further is Jon Sutherland, a 72-year-old Utah resident who currently has the active and longest running streak of 19,589 days, or 53.6 years.

What kept Dela Cruz running is not only the weight loss benefit, but most importantly, the positive impact it had on his mental health. “I realized it was amazing for my mental health—more effective than weight loss benefits. You can never outrun a bad diet. So whoever will start this for weight loss, you’ll need more than just running everyday to cut weight. For people needing help I would recommend this to help them exponentially.” 

Over the course of six years, life happens, and with it, challenges, setbacks, and trials. But they were nothing that Dela Cruz couldn’t handle. “Years 3 and 4, I did hit the mental block thinking how easier my life would be to stop it. Regular setbacks like traveling, typhoons, sickness weren’t an issue anymore. I guess the hardest physically now would be quarantined for COVID-
19.” 

Dela Cruz recalled before he contracted COVID-19, he created a back-up plan to run inside his small apartment. He said that his GPS couldn’t accurately track mileage distance under a concrete roof so he ran a mile at the track and kept a record of how many steps it took to get a mile. “I logged around 2,300 steps to hit a mile… so when I was isolated indoors, I just ran until my step count hit 3,000 just to be safe, in case my stride length got shorter than what I ran on the track.”

After hitting his sixth year, there’s no slowing down for Dela Cruz. “I have committed to running for as long as my legs can take me. People don’t know there is a ranking system in the streak runners registry. I told myself If I made it to Year 5 to rank up to ‘Proficient,’ I might as well make it to the big 50 for the highest rank of ‘The Hills.’ They have a rank for every five years a person completed their streak.” 

Dela Cruz then listed the streak runners in the CNMI, and said “Neophyte is the rank bestowed on everyone under 5 years of running everyday, so that would be Dr. Ron Snyder, Dr. Galvin DLG, Angel San Nicolas, J.C. Cadua, Simon Necesito, Ali Nelson, and Frank Nawaz.”

Proficient is the rank for a five-year running streak; 10 to 14 is Experienced; 15 to 19 is Well Versed; 20 to 24 is Highly Skilled; 25 to 29 Dominators; 30 to 34 is Masters; 35 to 39 is Grand Masters; 40 to 44 is Legends; 45 to 49 is Coverts; and 50+ is The Hills. “That’s the goal, to attain the coveted rank of running 50+ years. I just turned 25 years old when I started the run streak, so I know 50 years would be on my 75th birthday and I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

Dela Cruz then thanked his wife, son, family, friends, and co-workers “for being so supportive of it now. Years ago, some were betting when I would quit or told me there was nothing to prove anymore. It’s never been about proving anything. It just helps my mental health. It’s at that point I will run a mile as sure as the sun will rise for the day.” 

“My advice for anyone doing a run streak for this year: Just do it. Pain will come and go. It’s whether your conviction is strong enough to overcome in order to continue running a mile the next day. Have a pair of shorts and shoes in your car to be able to run anytime anywhere. Whether it’s before attending a wedding, funeral, party—or do it after. That’s what I usually have to pull when I oversleep on important days. Just be ready to run anytime and anywhere. A good example was when my wife was going into labor, I went into the delivery with my running clothes underneath. After my son came out and they took him for check ups and they were going to wheel my wife to her hospital room, I stripped my outer clothes off and ran my mile in the hospital parking lot. The doctor said she was fine and that was my cue to bolt and run laps around [the Commonwealth Health Center]. Thankfully, my wife supports my streak,” ended Dela Cruz.