In It For The Long Run Union alum who loves to run supports new indoor track on campus

On Dec. 27, 2018, Craig Carr, who graduated from Union in 1991, went for a run. There was nothing remarkable about that. He’s always enjoyed physical activity and felt the need to exercise after all the excess calories of Christmas. The odd thing was that he got up and ran the next day despite the Seattle rain, and the day after that, and kept going.

“By mid-January, I realized I’d run 20 days in a row,” Carr says. “I wondered if I could make it 30. Then 50. Then I thought, Wouldn’t it be cool if I could run for 100 days in a row?”

“The thing about a running streak is the longer you keep going, the more you think it’s going to take something drastic — like a surgery — to make you miss a day,” Carr continues. “The streak is its own reason and motivation. For the last few years, the question has never been if I’ll run, just when.”

Just over five years and more than 9,600 miles later, he’s still going. Every single day he runs at least a mile regardless of the weather, his health or his location.

What does a running streak look like?

In 2022, Carr left the Washington Conference where he worked when his running streak began and came home to Lincoln to serve as ministerial director for the Mid-America Union. Now he has to contend with more ice and snow than in Seattle. His answer? “Run slower,” Carr laughs. “It’s a combination of running and ice dancing. Some mornings it’s more about staying upright and not letting gravity win. I don’t worry about my time; I just enjoy the fresh air.”

“A streak is an interesting twist on running,” Carr continues. “If you’re training for a marathon, you’ll take days off to let your body recover and rest. I don’t do that. My days off are just going easy … a rest day run is just a little faster than a walk. You focus on not pushing it.”

There are rules to his running streak, though self-imposed. One is that the run must be at least one mile in order to count. “One day my wife, Carissa, and I were in the Seattle airport,” Carr recounts. “By the time we’d have our layover, fly to Omaha and drive to Lincoln, we weren’t going to get home until after 10 p.m. I realized I might not have time to get my run in. So to save the running streak, I ran a mile inside the Seattle airport.”

Though a mile is the minimum, he has averaged a little over five miles a day. His weekday runs are four miles, but longer distances on the weekends pull up the mean.

Do treadmills count? “Yes, but I’m just not a treadmill person,” Carr says. “All of my running is outdoors, which in Lincoln can be a challenge.” The secret is gearing up for the right weather. “I’ll wear three or four layers. I know if my first mile is a little chilly, I’ll be fine because I’ll get warmer as I run.”

Why stay active?

According to Carr, the discipline of physical activity is as much for a healthy mind and spirit as it is for a healthy body. “The daily run has become part of my daily devotional,” he says. “I get up, drink my 20 ounces of water to start hydrating, have my devotional time, then go for my run.”

“I think if I had to give it up, the biggest part I would miss is the emotional and spiritual exercise of the run,” he continues. “That’s a great deal of the reason why I’ve held onto it. I take the same route every morning, so I don’t have to think about where I’m going, I can just reflect and talk to God.”

Though he just moved back a year ago, Carr is no stranger to running in Lincoln. In 1983, his mother, Marilyn Carr, accepted the position of Dean of Women, and his family moved into Rees Hall. “My mom worked at Union for 22 years,” Carr says. “No matter where I’ve gone, Union College is always home.”

Invested in the new Reiner Wellness Center at Union

Many of his memories from that first year in Lincoln are of a brand-new Larson Lifestyle Center. “The pool had just been built, and everyone was excitedly talking about phase two. Phase two! We’ll have a new gym and indoor running track!” Carr laughs. “I’m so pleased to finally see phase two all these years later.”

Carr has contributed to the construction of the AdventHealth Complex, and is excited to have his donation commemorated on the Wall of Champions with a running shoe plaque. “I wanted to be part of this project, even in the small way I can afford,” he says. “I’ve wanted it finished since I was a teenager.”

“Exercising every day has been such an incredible blessing physically, emotionally and spiritually, and I want Union’s students to have that same opportunity,” he continues. “I was one of the first people to benefit from the Larson pool, and I know it has been a gift for students and a gateway to the Lincoln community for 40 years now. This addition will be more functional all through the year. When the worst weather hits, you’ll definitely see me on that new running track!”

Working for the church, Carr’s travels take him to a wide variety of Adventist facilities. He says he’s glad Union College’s leadership have been proactive in not just fundraising for the new fieldhouse, but also repairing and updating the existing pool and roof. “The buildings at our academies and universities are a bit like our own health,” he explains. “As we age — and as buildings age — if we aren’t maintaining or improving, we can reach a moment of crisis. We can’t rewind the clock to do things differently. We need to be proactive today. It will save us a lot of pain and money in the long run.”