By Lexi Lunsford, Guest Writer
It’s 6:00 am on a cold Friday morning in January. The urge to sink back into sleep is heavy as the alarm blares humanity’s least favorite sound. The sky is still dark, and the warm bed feels impossible to abandon. To make the situation even better, a long run is awaiting.
Running is difficult. It demands motivation, sacrifice, and deep willingness to push past discomfort. The time commitment is controlling, and it is an invitation to consistent pain. Sometimes, the run is just completed due to the fact that there is rest coming in the following days. The majority of runners will express gratitude for their rest days—this keeps their bodies from wearing down and avoids mental burnout. This isn’t the case for the Holden family, who have run every day for nine years straight and do not plan on stopping anytime soon.
Mark Holden and his two daughters, Lucy and Kate, have always enjoyed running. Growing up, the girls would watch their parents run together, and both decided to join the cross-country team when they got into middle school. What began as a hobby and a way to stay in shape deepened into an inspiring dedication to the sport on Nov. 28, 2016.
After having a friend who was committed to running one mile every day for a year, Mark was encouraged to do the same. “It’s just a year,” he told his daughters in hopes they would do it alongside him. Lucy, the oldest of the two daughters, didn’t want to participate at first. Mark and Kate begged Lucy to join and provided goals and rewards for every milestone completed in this journey. “After two months, we got to go shopping. After six months, we got a drone,” Lucy said. What started as their dad motivating them to accomplish the goal turned into a deep love for the sport and excitement to continue the streak. They got to a year and thought, “Why stop now?”
As the years went on, the streak grew, and so did the relationships that they had with one another. “It’s been a special part of my relationship with Dad and Lucy over the years,” Kate shared. The family looks forward to quality time together and to special moments to bond and talk about the different things going on in their lives. Even while the girls are away at college, multiple FaceTime calls or texts about their runs spark the special connection they have with their father through this daily tradition.
Along with the growth in the relationship, the Holden family has also experienced countless memories that will stay with them forever. Despite inconvenient circumstances, illness, bad weather, or unexpected obstacles, the family stayed committed to one another. A lot can happen in nine years, but there wasn’t any situation that was difficult enough to break the Holdens’ streak.
Among the countless memories the Holdens hold close, there are a few that stand out above the rest – a major one being running through Hurricane Harvey. The Holdens are from Houston, Texas, and therefore have become accustomed to running through intense heat, high humidity, and other severe conditions. Aug. 2017, however, was different in Houston. Hurricane Harvey stalled over the city for multiple days, dumping up to 40 inches of rain and making it one of the wettest tropical storms in all of U.S. history. Neighborhoods became swallowed by water, and their route became an unfamiliar stream. Still, the severe flooding didn’t stop the family from lacing up their shoes. “We had water up to our knees, but it was so much fun,” Lucy shared. What many would consider an unfathomable circumstance, the Holdens considered an opportunity to face resilience and continue their streak.
As the years went on, the Holdens took their streak day by day and worked around many full schedules and inconvenient situations. One time, the family traveled to Namibia, Africa. Total travel time for this trip was 36 hours, making for a long and exhausting trek. During a layover, the girls were hit with a sudden realization that their run had not been completed yet for that day. Even as eighth graders, Lucy and Kate refused to miss a day and decided to lace up their shoes in the airport to run their mile in the terminal where they were waiting. They took multiple trips around the terminal with hundreds of strangers giving them odd looks. “A police officer even stopped us and asked us why we were running so much,” Kate shared. They explained their dedication to their ongoing record, and soon continued their run through the crowded terminal, determined to get their mile in.
After arriving in Africa, the unbroken record continued. On their run through the wide-open savanna, the family was faced with many aspects of the African wildlife they had never encountered on a run before. “We were just running on this farm, and baboons are running all around us; it felt like a race,” Lucy said. Runs like this, a little wild and chaotic, but extremely memorable, were the runs that have kept this relentless pursuit going for so long.
Going on 10 years, there have been many situations where it hasn’t been easy to complete their daily commitment. But despite injuries, summer camp, and even viruses such as the flu and COVID-19, the family continued their standing tradition. “It’s like brushing your teeth,” Kate shared. “It’s just something you have to do every day.”
Lucy and Kate both run cross country and track at Ouachita and have endured many difficult situations that come with being collegiate athletes. During her freshman season, Lucy suffered an injury and felt that her mile-a-day streak delayed her healing process. Now, as a senior, Lucy felt that she wanted to give herself the best opportunity possible to excel during her final season. Lucy made the difficult decision on Nov. 28, 2025, to end her daily streak of running at a record of nine years.
Lucy shared her plans with her family during the summer before their ninth anniversary, in hopes that they would understand. “I understood because we both do the same things, and I know it’s not easy,” Kate said. “Lucy is one of the best on the team, so she has a lot riding on her. Mom and Dad had a more difficult time, but eventually understood that she would benefit from having days off.” Lucy still enjoys running with her family and cheering them on to continue the streak.
As for Kate and Mark, there is no end in sight for when their daily commitment will end. As the two of them go on for 10 years, they feel no reason to break the tradition. There is no desire to give up the commitment, and they can’t imagine any situation that would cause them to stop. “Maybe when I give birth,” Kate shared. “But even then, I feel like I could make it work.” Through major life moments such as graduation, wedding days, and even childbirth, Kate and Mark are fully dedicated to a daily run.
What started as a simple mile-a-day has become a deep legacy of family commitment, resilience and the joy found in perseverance. “This experience has taught me the importance of consistency, family and how little things matter the most,” Lucy shared. For the Holdens, a mile-a-day is more than just a run; it’s a tradition that will shape the rest of their life, preparing them for hardship while also building a strong character and an unbreakable family bond. And with every cold Friday morning, with the alarm blaring and the bed clinging like a magnet, the Holdens are a reminder that the hardest first steps often lead to the most meaningful journey.
