Dr. Ron celebrates ‘Comma’ with a good cause

One of the pillars of Saipan’s running community, Dr. Ron Snyder, marked his 1,000th straight day of running at least a mile last Sunday, Sept. 24.

His “Comma” day also coincided with his sister Jeanie Dickinson’s 54th birthday and celebrated both with a mile run that began in front of the Oleai Beach Bar & Grill.

On top of that, Snyder ran for a great cause as he, along with supporters, donated to benefit Prader-Willi Syndrome Alliance of New York, Inc. in honor of his niece, Jessika Dickinson.

Snyder, who ran with man’s best friend Gilligan, said how he felt after his 1,000th day run, “Really good. I mean, when I started, I was only planning on 30 days. And then when I did 30 days, I had extended it to 60 days, then to 200 days—-then I said I’m gonna do a year. But yeah, I never thought about 1,000 days when I first started. So, I’m very proud and happy that Edward [Dela Cruz Jr.] introduced me to it.”

The 57-year-old Saipan International School headmaster said that next up for him is the ‘Forrest Gump run’ of about three years, two months, 14 days and 16 hours—saying he will run as much as Forrest Gump did in the movie.

But even when he reaches that, Snyder said he will just keep on running and has no plans on stopping. The next milestone he wants to reach after the Forrest Gump run, is the Proficient level, five-year mark of the running streak world.

Snyder was also very grateful for the handful that joined him on his 1,000th day run and for those who donated to the cause. “I’m really, really grateful, not only to the ones who donated money, but everyone who showed up for me today and helped me help me celebrate through to the end. So, a long journey, obviously. I’m also grateful to the people who donated. Every little bit helps for the organization and I’m sure that they are going to be very grateful to receive the funds as well.”

He then recalled the tough times he’s had with running every day, and said that when he got COVID-19 was the toughest. “Probably the first six months were the hardest because then it hasn’t become a habit yet. There were also some days that I wasn’t feeling well,” he said.

His advice for those who want to start a run streak or are in the middle of one is, “Do it as long as you feel good. If it’s really not bringing you joy and actually dragging your body down, that’s the time to stop. But it does change your life,” he said. “I’m not an elite runner by any means, but it has impacted my health in a positive way and my outlook on life too. So, my advice would be to try it and keep with it over those first difficult times, and then it just becomes a part of your life and a part of maintaining your health.”

Dela Cruz, who was part of Dr. Ron’s 1,000th day running crew, said he is proud of him for reaching that milestone. He said that he thought he wouldn’t even make that far and thought he would actually end it after just 30 days.