Stuart Middlecoate Has Completed 500+ Consecutive 10k Runs On Zwift

July 2, 2024

LAST UPDATED July 1, 2024

“I never actually planned this…”

This might sound like a strange statement for somebody who has recently completed their 500th day of running consecutive 10k’s.

But it’s true.

In 2022 I decided to try and run 52 half marathons, 1 a week essentially. In the end I ran 62 but as a I neared the turn of the year I needed a challenge for 2023.

January is always a popular month for challenges and goal setting. There’s the classic “start exercising” and Dry January is more and more popular. I’m teetotal so that was a pointless one.

So I set myself a goal of running 10k every day in January. I’d run consecutive 10k days in the past, but never three in a row. January came and went and the addiction kicked in. The new goal was simply to carry on doing it until I got bored, injured, or some other life event occurred.

At this point I was just jumping on Zwift and running my 10k on my own, no plan. Just pick a course and go.

Then I saw the Zwift Long Distance Runners (ZLDR) events and started to join those. The welcome I received was immense and I was made to feel part of a community. The group chats and encouragement made the daily 10k pass much quicker.

James Bailey from the Zwift events team then suggested I make my daily run an event of its own. His support was amazing and he created the daily event with my only real input being to pick the course. And so in May 2023 Run 10k Every Day became a thing. Only it somehow became Run 10k Every Day in 2023. I can’t remember how, why, or where it became a challenge to do a year. (See I told you it wasn’t planned.)

Then NoblePro invited me to become an ambassador for their treadmills. (They’ve continued to support me throughout the challenge.) And so the Noble Pro Running Club (NPRC) was born and continues to grow.

As I neared 31st December 2023 I knew I had a decision to make as to whether to continue the challenge or not. I’d made it through 364 days and I was joined by over 50 runners from all different groups for my “final” 10k. It was emotional to complete the year to say the least. I woke up on 1^st January 2024 and I honestly at that point hadn’t made a decision as to whether to continue or not. (Again, evidence of the lack of planning.)

And so I did, and the goal moved to 500 days which came and went last month. All through the 500 days an old friend of mine had been encouraging me to do 1000. I’d dismissed this every time despite him sending me percentage updates of my progress towards 1000.

So it’s 1000 now which takes me to September 2025. If I complete the challenge it will be 3 birthdays and 2 Christmas Days I’ll have run on spanning 3 different years. Reaching 1000 seems like it’s a final destination, will I stop or not? Almost definitely but like I say, “I’ve never planned this.”

For me, without Zwift I doubt I would have lasted a month. That’s the power of Zwift. It can help you push boundaries that you didn’t think were possible.

The ability to have that on-screen distraction from what can be a mundane daily run is fantastic. Each time I run I see something different that I’ve never noticed. Going a bit slower than cyclists you can take in more of the surroundings and really notice the detail that goes into building a world.

And I’m never alone. Each day, somebody new joins the event and I have a core group of regulars that keep me motivated through their chat and support. That’s the power of the Zwift community.