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Bob
Ray
There is
a retired letter carrier in the Baltimore area by the name of Robert C. Ray,
whose running exploits are legendary. Serious runners throughout central
Maryland know him simply as Bob Ray.
Bob
initially started running on a regular basis on December 18, 1953, and ran for
over thirteen years before he started running every day on April 4, 1967. As of
December 31, 1999, Bob had run 86,808 miles in the continuous days of his
streak, an average of almost 7 1/4 miles per day. Since his beginning over 46
years ago, Bob has logged in excess of 108,000 miles.
These
are overwhelming numbers, making Bob’s running accomplishments awesome by any
standard. Included in the figures are more than 500 races, eighteen of which
were marathons. He set his best time of 3:08 in the Harrisburg Marathon in 1983
when he was 46 years old.
In
addition, Bob spread his footprints across America in July, 1987 by running the
48 contiguous states. He has run in Hawaii, and did the Midnight Sun Marathon in
Alaska in 1992 to complete the states.
Back in
1990, he was one of only 125 runners to race up the 560 steps and 27 stories of
the World Trade Center at Harborplace in downtown Baltimore, and the only one to
do it barefooted. His time of 3:36 placed him second, only 36 seconds behind the
winner.
On April
4, 2000, just three days prior to his 63rd birthday, Bob will reach
33 years of running without missing a day—a milestone certainly worthy of
recognition. Bob holds the record for the longest running streak in the United
States—a third of a century.
Bob’s
daily running streak exemplifies his personal traits of perseverance,
determination, dedication of purpose, fortitude and self-discipline. All these
attributes combine to lift the human spirit and inspire us all to try harder in
our own endeavors.
Not to
be overshadowed by his running feats are the rich human qualities that have
endeared Bob to so many over the years. He is known far and wide as a caring and
kind-hearted person who is always willing to do anything requested of him.
Bob volunteers as much—or more—of his time and efforts as anyone. He has handled the start/finish line duties at hundreds of races, and has coached and encouraged hundreds of runners.
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