Today’s a big day for the small number of dedicated Smashrunners who set their sites on the Leap Year Sweep this year and successfully completed the challenge.
A year-long streak is never easy. There’s never a year without adversity. We all have bad days. We travel. We get sick. We feel lazy or down. And there are days when we don’t know how we’re going to get everything done—and yet, somehow, we also find time for a run.
When you’re running a streak, you have to run even when it’s the last thing you want to do. And that’s the magic of it. You discover that, almost always, even a short run makes you feel better—even when you’re convinced it won’t.
Running is universal medicine. When you leave the house and go for a run—no matter the pace, no matter the distance—you come home in a different, almost always better, place.
So, congratulations to all of you who sought out that medicine 366 times this past year no matter how bitter it may have seemed at the time.
UPDATE 1/1/2025
With (presumably) all of last year’s runs now logged, it appears that 3 of the 5 runners who completed 366-day streaks during the previous three leap years also earned the badge this year.
Of the two runners who didn’t complete 366 days this year, one made it all the way to the end of November before missing a day, while the other stopped logging runs in August.
An impressive 785 runners completed the Leap Year Sweep this year. Here’s the final breakdown:
- 3 runners achieved four 366-day streaks.
- 45 runners achieved three 366-day streaks.
- 298 runners achieved two 366-day streaks.
- 1,285 runners achieved one 366-day streak.
Thanks to the generous support of our users, we hope Smashrun will be here in 2029 to help you track your next Leap Year Sweep!
I managed it! There were some days I questioned my choices, and it seemed like a chore; there was a hairy week when my knee was wobbly: in the end I pushed through it. Feeling like a runner again, I’ve even signed up for another marathon in May 😀
That’s awesome! A year of running and your a changed person. I think discipline begets discipline. That said, I’ve tried it every 4 years and never managed it myself. So I know well how hard it is.
Well done!
After a blog post posted at this time last year, I sought to earn the 366 for the second time. 🙂 At the time, it was mentioned that not many people had earned 366 multiple times. Is there any chance we could learn how many people have earned it multiple times?
I’d love to know this as well. I thought it was a very low number but the blog post disappeared, so they might have found a flaw in how they were looking at it. I know I have 2016, 2020, and 2024, but I wasn’t doing streaks back in 2012.
I was waiting for all the runs from last year to come in before updating the stats. You can see the full tally in the update to the post above, but it looks like 3 of the 5 people with 3 leap year streaks added a 4th this year, and all 5 appear to have attempted it.
Fewer than 300 people have now earned it two times. I was surprised how many people gave it a go this year.
Finished my 2nd one earlier today. 4,200km covered and looking forward to taking a few days off!
Wow. Just running 1 or 2km every single day is hard enough. I can’t really comprehend the endurance it takes to run 4,200km in a year without a single days break.
I finally got mine on my third attempt! I had to run through a torn meniscus all year, a 7 week recovery from covid, and a bunch of travel, but I FINALLY DID IT!
If there is any way to buy a 3d printed version of the 366 badge I would pay an uncomfortable amount for it, I’m way more proud of it than any of my random race medals and want to hang it up!
I love that idea. I’ve been trying to stay much more focused on usability improvements lately instead of just doing all the things that make me happy. But physical badges would definitely make me happy. There some logistical difficulties, but I’ll see if I can find some time in the New Year to make it happen.
if you are looking for support for physical badges then count me in. I doubt I will ever get to a 365/366 streak, my 275 days broke me, yet I’m immensely proud of it. I’d like Longest Day (so hard for a single days activity), Sunriser, 6 Far Further. Either as medals or sew on patches or even stickers. I’d also love a pro badge, super happy you guys are still around, as I rely on Smashrun heavily for motivation during tough periods.
Did it! Last year around this time, I was feeling demoralized from an injury and not doing enough for recovery. Glad that the Smashrun team gave me the idea to get back into running every day! Still got injured 🤪 but having the 366 day goal helped me figure out how to recover and keep going.
After a decade of running and countless injuries I feel like (despite my best intuition) I’ve always recovered faster from most injuries with light exercise rather than complete rest. It’s one of many things Ive learned from running streaks.
Congratulations on making it through this time. It’s an incredible achievement. (I tried and failed again this year)
Got my second one a few minutes ago! Great job everyone!
Well done!
I managed it. After ending a 1307 day streak at the end of 2023 in the hospital for a bleeding ulcer, I started and continued to a year on streak number 2.
Congrats on the new streak! Here’s to beating the old one! Congrats.
I did my first 366-day in 2024! Glad to be a part of the club. Also, in the midst of a 1,284 day running streak (as of 1/1/25). Keep up the good work everyone!
Oh noooo! Just when I thought I’d crossed the finish line, I find out there are 3 runners with 4 streaks! Guess I’m not quite done yet. The short distance run turned into a marathon, but unfortunately one that I can’t win… 😂
2 time leap year runner here…day 1966 of my 5+ year Run Streak
The hurricanes Helene & Milton stopped my 2,687 day streak. Oh well.
It’s my 2nd leap year, but my run streak is actually at 1902 days as of today!