John Roemer III, left, of Parkton, and his son, John Roemer IV, of Glencoe, are runners who have run every day for a very long time. Roemer III ran for 17 years straight, missed for five weeks when he was hospitalized, and since then has run every day for 12 years. Roemer IV has run for 29 years without missing a day. (Staff photo by Nicole Martyn)
Streak freaks
Father and son are in it for the long run
By Pat van den Beemt
pvdb@comcast.net
Posted 8/06/08
Ask 48-year-old John Roemer IV what he did on any day since Nov. 1, 1978, and he’ll give you an exact answer. Ask his father, John Roemer III, what he accomplished any day since Dec. 12, 1977 — with the exception of five weeks in 1990 — and he, too, can answer precisely.
The Parkton father and his Glencoe son are not blessed with instant recall. They have simply run every day since those dates. Each can pull out a book and show how many miles he ran, and where the run took place.
“When it’s dark outside and it’s February and it’s cold and it’s raining, the streak is what gets you up and out of bed,” said John Roemer III, 70.
“It’s actually easier to have the streak,” said his son, John Roemer IV. “You don’t have to think about whether or not you’ll run today. If you don’t run just once, it makes it easier to stop another day, then another.”
Father and son don’t run together, but often pass each other when they’re on trails that snake through Gunpowder Falls State Park and the land around Prettyboy Reservoir, or along the flat path of the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail.
With so many natural choices, they rarely run on North County’s twisty, narrow roads.
“People ask me why I run every day,” said the elder Roemer. “How could I not be out here enjoying all this beauty?”
A challenge made it serious
In 1969, John Roemer III was executive director of the Maryland branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, living in Parkton with his wife and two children, and looking at the start of middle-age spread. He started running to stay in shape.
It wasn’t until a friend challenged him to run every day for a year that he got serious about the sport.
His streak started Dec. 27, 1977, and lasted 12 years and 184 days before he was sidelined with prostate problems. Roemer was so determined to keep the streak that he ran while holding a catheter. He ended up in the hospital, but was back hitting the trails in five weeks. He has run every day since Aug. 1, 1990.
Over the years, he’s had injuries that would stop most people, like broken ribs, severe flu and a fractured foot.
“I used a cane and slowed down with the foot fracture, but I kept going,” he said. “Luckily, I never had an injury I couldn’t run through.”
His streak was accompanied by endurance competitions. He ran from the north rim to the south rim of the Grand Canyon; rode a bicycle from Baltimore to Boston; ran 26.2 miles to the start of the Boston Marathon, joined the other runners and ran 26.2 miles back to Boston, and participated in 50-mile runs.
“I haven’t run competitively in 20 years. There’s no watch now. I don’t keep track of my time,” he said of his daily, eight-mile run. “My goal now is to stay fit and not get hurt.”
At 5 feet, 11 inches, he weighs 155 pounds, the same as he did in high school.
Roemer taught at Friends School of Baltimore from 1963 to 1969 and at the Park School in Pikesville, where he’s been since 1984. He used to teach American history. He now teaches classes in civil liberties and the history of the civil rights movement at the Park School part time. He said he often prepares classes or writes reports in his head while running.
In 1980, he helped start a women’s cross country team at Goucher College while managing the Hess running store at Harborplace at the Inner Harbor and Towsontown Mall.
His wife, Mary, had a four-year running streak, but now enjoys bicycling and kayaking instead.
Roemer prefers to run early every morning.
“That way, the run still counts toward the streak if I die later that day,” he said with a laugh. “A lot of runners quit when they get slower. But the streak keeps me going.”
A conscious decision
John Roemer IV recalls his first race in 1969. He was 9 and ran a mile.
“I was painfully slow. My father came up to me after and gave me a trophy, and I thought, ‘Wow. This is what you get if you run. I want to keep doing this.’ Later, I found out it was his trophy.”
Roemer kept with it and ran track and played soccer at what was then Hereford Junior/Senior High School.
At Johns Hopkins University, he played soccer in his freshman year, the same year his running streak started.
“I knew I wasn’t going to distinguish myself with soccer,” Roemer said. “So I decided to concentrate on running, and I made a conscious decision to run every day,” he said.
He then ran track and cross country at Johns Hopkins, where he set a school record in 1982 that still stands today. He ran 1,500 meters in 3 minutes, 56.2 seconds, which is equivalent to a 4-minute, 16-second mile, he said.
Like his father, Roemer did more than simply run every day. In 1980, he bicycled 4,800 miles, as he toured the United States for seven weeks. He ran a 40-mile race through New Zealand’s mountains, ran in several marathons and competed in and won several biathlons. After learning to swim at 23, Roemer competed in several triathlons.
The younger Roemer has had some injuries along the way. But suffering from kidney stones, a stress fracture and a painful heel condition known as plantar fasciitis hasn’t stopped the streak.
He now runs about five miles a day, with one run more than 12 miles a week. He logged 3,200 miles in his longest year, and his longest week saw him run 152 miles on the trails around Prettyboy Reservoir.
Roemer especially loves to run on the reservoir when it’s frozen. He uses spiked shoes to run on the ice.
Just about all of his runs are in the early mornings. The rest of the day is devoted to Roemer Ecological Services, a company he started in 1990. It mainly delineates wetlands and identifies threatened or endangered plants for developers.
He also has coached at Hereford High School for 12 years. Roemer is the spring track coach specializing in distance runs. He also volunteers to coach the cross country and indoor track teams and is their photographer.
Roemer has been married for a year, and his wife, Barbie, now has a 300-day running streak.
“She saw me eat and drink anything I wanted and not gain weight,” said Roemer, whose 5 feet, 9 inches and 160 pounds is, like his father, the same as when he was in high school. “We certainly don’t get any external reward from the streak. The reward is physical and mental benefits.”
The Parkton father and his Glencoe son are not blessed with instant recall. They have simply run every day since those dates. Each can pull out a book and show how many miles he ran, and where the run took place.
“When it’s dark outside and it’s February and it’s cold and it’s raining, the streak is what gets you up and out of bed,” said John Roemer III, 70.
“It’s actually easier to have the streak,” said his son, John Roemer IV. “You don’t have to think about whether or not you’ll run today. If you don’t run just once, it makes it easier to stop another day, then another.”
Father and son don’t run together, but often pass each other when they’re on trails that snake through Gunpowder Falls State Park and the land around Prettyboy Reservoir, or along the flat path of the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail.
With so many natural choices, they rarely run on North County’s twisty, narrow roads.
“People ask me why I run every day,” said the elder Roemer. “How could I not be out here enjoying all this beauty?”
A challenge made it serious
In 1969, John Roemer III was executive director of the Maryland branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, living in Parkton with his wife and two children, and looking at the start of middle-age spread. He started running to stay in shape.
It wasn’t until a friend challenged him to run every day for a year that he got serious about the sport.
His streak started Dec. 27, 1977, and lasted 12 years and 184 days before he was sidelined with prostate problems. Roemer was so determined to keep the streak that he ran while holding a catheter. He ended up in the hospital, but was back hitting the trails in five weeks. He has run every day since Aug. 1, 1990.
Over the years, he’s had injuries that would stop most people, like broken ribs, severe flu and a fractured foot.
“I used a cane and slowed down with the foot fracture, but I kept going,” he said. “Luckily, I never had an injury I couldn’t run through.”
His streak was accompanied by endurance competitions. He ran from the north rim to the south rim of the Grand Canyon; rode a bicycle from Baltimore to Boston; ran 26.2 miles to the start of the Boston Marathon, joined the other runners and ran 26.2 miles back to Boston, and participated in 50-mile runs.
“I haven’t run competitively in 20 years. There’s no watch now. I don’t keep track of my time,” he said of his daily, eight-mile run. “My goal now is to stay fit and not get hurt.”
At 5 feet, 11 inches, he weighs 155 pounds, the same as he did in high school.
Roemer taught at Friends School of Baltimore from 1963 to 1969 and at the Park School in Pikesville, where he’s been since 1984. He used to teach American history. He now teaches classes in civil liberties and the history of the civil rights movement at the Park School part time. He said he often prepares classes or writes reports in his head while running.
In 1980, he helped start a women’s cross country team at Goucher College while managing the Hess running store at Harborplace at the Inner Harbor and Towsontown Mall.
His wife, Mary, had a four-year running streak, but now enjoys bicycling and kayaking instead.
Roemer prefers to run early every morning.
“That way, the run still counts toward the streak if I die later that day,” he said with a laugh. “A lot of runners quit when they get slower. But the streak keeps me going.”
A conscious decision
John Roemer IV recalls his first race in 1969. He was 9 and ran a mile.
“I was painfully slow. My father came up to me after and gave me a trophy, and I thought, ‘Wow. This is what you get if you run. I want to keep doing this.’ Later, I found out it was his trophy.”
Roemer kept with it and ran track and played soccer at what was then Hereford Junior/Senior High School.
At Johns Hopkins University, he played soccer in his freshman year, the same year his running streak started.
“I knew I wasn’t going to distinguish myself with soccer,” Roemer said. “So I decided to concentrate on running, and I made a conscious decision to run every day,” he said.
He then ran track and cross country at Johns Hopkins, where he set a school record in 1982 that still stands today. He ran 1,500 meters in 3 minutes, 56.2 seconds, which is equivalent to a 4-minute, 16-second mile, he said.
Like his father, Roemer did more than simply run every day. In 1980, he bicycled 4,800 miles, as he toured the United States for seven weeks. He ran a 40-mile race through New Zealand’s mountains, ran in several marathons and competed in and won several biathlons. After learning to swim at 23, Roemer competed in several triathlons.
The younger Roemer has had some injuries along the way. But suffering from kidney stones, a stress fracture and a painful heel condition known as plantar fasciitis hasn’t stopped the streak.
He now runs about five miles a day, with one run more than 12 miles a week. He logged 3,200 miles in his longest year, and his longest week saw him run 152 miles on the trails around Prettyboy Reservoir.
Roemer especially loves to run on the reservoir when it’s frozen. He uses spiked shoes to run on the ice.
Just about all of his runs are in the early mornings. The rest of the day is devoted to Roemer Ecological Services, a company he started in 1990. It mainly delineates wetlands and identifies threatened or endangered plants for developers.
He also has coached at Hereford High School for 12 years. Roemer is the spring track coach specializing in distance runs. He also volunteers to coach the cross country and indoor track teams and is their photographer.
Roemer has been married for a year, and his wife, Barbie, now has a 300-day running streak.
“She saw me eat and drink anything I wanted and not gain weight,” said Roemer, whose 5 feet, 9 inches and 160 pounds is, like his father, the same as when he was in high school. “We certainly don’t get any external reward from the streak. The reward is physical and mental benefits.”
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