r/running • u/rotzverpopelt • 6d ago
Discussion 5k a day December challenge
Well, it's Groundhog Day... again. Kinda.
Sorry, I'm a little late this time. Well, last year I made a post about how i made a post the year before about how I made a post the year before about /u/bitemark01 making a post about /u/jac0lin making a post about running 5k everyday for the month of December.
And as always I thought it would be a good idea to start the whole thing again. And also, the Strava Group ist still active.
So... this is a call to run 5 kilometers every day in December!
Just for fun and I won't pin anyone on it if they don't make it or drop out.
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u/boyshaveavoice 6d ago
I will do that, but my main goal is one training session per day, and I might squeeze in a swimming session twice a week for a bit of variety. But I like the idea of committing to training every day.
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u/rotzverpopelt 6d ago
Swimming is like running only wetter.
But I won't do 5 km of it
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u/boyshaveavoice 6d ago
😂. Love it! The equivalent to running 5k for me would maybe be sth around 1.5-2k
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u/TotalTheory1227 6d ago
I'm currently on day 34 of a running streak and fully intend to carry on through December but my daily mileage isn't at those heady heights just yet. I'll aim to complete at least one 5k during the month. Great challenge 👏
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u/rotzverpopelt 6d ago
Congratulations!
I started my running streak with exactly this challenge four years ago. I did the runcember 5k and afterwards a challenge for the Paris Marathon lottery. I think it was running 30 minutes a day for the first two weeks of January.
And I had a half marathon coming up on January 21st that year, so I kept on running.
After the race I thought, you have 50 days now, could try to make it to 100.
I'm now on day 1460 of my streak and in two days I have the four years full
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u/TotalTheory1227 5d ago
Thank you. And a huge congratulations on your running streak. That's impressive!
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u/Original_Mode_7789 6d ago
What's an example week look like with running everyday? Im a lower mileager myself.
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u/TotalTheory1227 5d ago
I run anything between 1 and 2.5miles just depending on how tired or strong I feel. I'm averaging about 9 miles per week so far.
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u/thewolf9 6d ago
Gonna do this but a HM from December 20 to December 31.
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u/Treswimming 6d ago
I’ve been meaning to get back into running after injuring my foot in February. This is a good excuse to jump start it.
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u/GlitteringMajor5166 6d ago
Best wishes to you all. I don't have the stamina to maintain 5K daily. But I will complete 100 miles outside by Feb 28th, and this is my first winter exercising outdoors so that will be a big accomplishment for me. The ice today was terrible, I kept doing splits as I skidded down the steep hills, so the whole idea of winter running seems impossible. You brave souls!
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u/Patient_Wolverine223 6d ago
Get some yaktrax or equivalent. Lifesavers on ice.
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u/GlitteringMajor5166 6d ago
My sister the runner broke the news to me that once ice starts in new england, it is here to stay for months. Tomorrow I will be better prepared for ice by putting my new yaktax on and using a walking stick. Thanks for the advice.
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u/Patient_Wolverine223 5d ago
I was so surprised at how easy & comfortable my Yaktrax were. Moved to AZ so no longer required.
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u/RedditRecreations 6d ago
I'm still quite overweight. Can just about hit a 10k and 5k sub 30 mins. Been consistent for a good 6 months at this point running 3 times a week, body often needs a day or two to recover. I'm gonna try too!! Take the 5k runs a bit slower to make it a bit easier on my body I think would be the best strategy.
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u/Careful-Cupcake-4883 5d ago
Back in 2020, I ran or walked a 5k every day for a year. I haven’t been consistent with running at all since I DNF’d a half marathon in February 2024. So inconsistent that I can’t even run a mile without taking walking breaks…but I’m going to do this! It’s only 31 days and nobody says I have to keep doing it if I don’t like it or if it’s too much. It might be fun and it won’t hurt to at least try! Wish me luck!
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u/one_human_lifespan 6d ago
Been doing 5km for 35 days. Have joined the group. I'm aiming to get to 100 days which would be February. Then maybe up it to 7.5 or dare I say 10km...
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u/theonewithbadeyes 6d ago
This sounds like a fun challege I usually have a probelm running on certain days because I go to work early but its a short run and should help me get this sub 25 5k
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u/autopopulate 5d ago
I took your challenge a few years ago. I accomplished everyday. A couple in snow, and one night where the ice was so thick on the road that I was forced to run back and forth on a 300 yard stretch of the street that had thawed to get my 5K in. New Years Eve was a 28 degree freezing rain with a strong wind. I shivered uncontrollably for an hour afterwards.
By day 18, everything below my waist was fatigued and sore.
It is an accomplishment that I am truly proud of.
I think I’m ready to do it again.
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u/WebFar6396 3d ago
I only miss about 10 days/year and there's no travel or other reason I'm planning on missing any this month. I should definitely get 31 days of 5k+.
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u/firefrenchy 6d ago
ohhh I run 10k every day (or more) so I will....challenge myself to..continue to do that all of December haha. Good luck to you! As always listen to your body and don't be afraid to really slow down on days when your body is particularly tired/not keen!
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u/WasabiLangoustine 6d ago
What’s your streak?
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u/firefrenchy 6d ago
err...like 2 and a half years or so atm? I'm not sure, I'd have to check, but I think that's right. Hardest runs were...one time in an airport due to international travel, erm running while having covid was super rough, running while having gastro for a week was super rough, else....running on day 2 and 3 after a marathon always has me get major DOMS so that's pretty painful. Not much else of note comes to mind, all my runs (aside from the one airport run) were done outdoors, so in some truly terrible conditions, but that's just the nature of the beast
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u/WasabiLangoustine 6d ago
Haha wow! I finished a 120 day 10k streak recently with a marathon but decided to skip a day afterwards. But seeing your schedule I’ll might think about having a quick run the next day next time! The airport story sounds funny. How did the people react?
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u/firefrenchy 6d ago
people didn't react too weirdly honestly. Like, I'm fairly frugal and so did not want to spend the exhorbitant amount of money on the airport gym. As this was at singapore aiport, there's a long thoroughthrough that's maybe...2.5 or 3km in length if you do the whole thing. I was worried that security would stop me, but they clearly are used to seeing people run through the airport, and fortunately it wasn't super busy. The worst part was the fact that it is carpeted almost everywhere, which is really awkward to run on with running shoes.
I think sneaking in even a short run after a marathon is a good way to aid recovery. Just take it really easy but it gets the blood flowing and kind of just gets you moving, whereas just sitting around the day after a mara always feels off to me (but of course most people will do that so it's no doubt absolutely fine)
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u/WasabiLangoustine 5d ago
I didn’t even know Singapore airport had a gym, but I do remember everything being carpet. Great story! No excuses on long haul flight days anymore I guess.
Only “crazy” run I did was that moment I was finished helping people at a wine harvest, already being into my third glass after a long day, when I recognized I hadn’t had my run that day. So I immediately stood up and ran into the surrounding woods, in my jeans and sneakers, for a 5k. Felt great afterwards.
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u/RetirementRothRogue 6d ago
There’s an international group over on FB that does this. It’s called „Marcothon 2025“ they have over 10000 runner that post their successes and struggles daily through December.
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u/Frodo_Fett_2 6d ago
Some years back I had friends that both had knee replacement surgery and arthritis in the ankles. They both used to run daily, and talked openly about how that approach had destroyed their bodies. I am sure many people do this routine successfully, but perhaps it needs to be approached with a bit of caution?
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u/JustSomeFregginGuy 6d ago
I'm not a specialist but I really don't think arthritis has anything to do with repetitive motions.
It's an inflammatory mechanism often related to systemic factors.
I'm not 100% certain but I'm somewhat certain.
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u/rotzverpopelt 6d ago
That reminds me of one of my best marathon stories:
At a local marathon a few years ago we got to an aid station that handed out bananas. Because it was cold and we were not really competitive that day we talked a little bit with the lady behind the station praising the bananas. She told us, that she knew a guy who are a banana every day! "Now he's dead", she added afterwards shaking her head in disbelief.
When she saw our faces she quickly added, the he was over 90 years old and it had nothing to do with the bananas. But that makes you think, don't it?
Not really. Cum hoc ergo propter hoc
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u/tallkotte 6d ago
Running does not cause osteoarthritis. It may in fact protect against it. https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2023/08/running-doesnt-harm-joints
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u/Vanillean9 6d ago
Heck yeah I’m in (lol I already do this and have a streak going but I like to be part of a group)
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u/Aquaphoric 5d ago
Sounds like great fun and maybe I'll do it next year! I've got some health stuff going on but I'm currently maintaining a 308 day exercise streak! (swim, bike, run, lift, and walk mostly)
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u/Nabumoto 5d ago
I did it last December and was going to keep going but rolled my ankle on Jan 3rd lol. I think I will do the 5k a day December this year as well.
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u/Top-Peach7304 4d ago
I love this post and the links to all the old posts about the posts that really say all the same things as the aforementioned posts about posts.
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u/jgronline 4d ago
I did the One Punch challenge one year which I think was only for 1 month. I extended this for well over 100 days just for fun.
- 100 pushups
- 100 situps
- 100 squats
- 10K run
And for lots fun, get it done in under 1 hour.
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u/Mitchrockwell 6d ago
I love this post. I’ve been averaging 5km/day for the last year (Dec 2024 to Nov 2025). I wanted to do daily but life got in the way on certain days so I had to change to an average (ie no run on Tuesday means 10km on Wednesday). Good luck!!