[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 101 (Tuesday, July 16, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING MARK COVERT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 16, 2013

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the end of an era. 
On July 23, 2013, the man who holds the U.S. record--and possibly the 
world record--for the longest continuous running streak will be hanging 
up his shoes. Mark Covert, a legend in the world of track and field, 
has run at least one mile every day for the last 45 years.
  In D.C. terms, that means he has run through nine presidential 
administrations, seven economic recessions and over 20 sessions of 
Congress. On a personal level, he has laced up his shoes every day 
through storms, heat waves, illnesses, surgery and even the births of 
his four children. If you ask him how he did it, he'll tell you it 
would never have been possible without the full support and 
encouragement of his wife Debi--especially on the birthdays.
  Not only has he run through history, he has made it. In the 1972 U.S. 
Olympic Marathon Trials, Covert was the first athlete to cross a finish 
line wearing an unusual pair of shoes with rubber soles that were made 
on a waffle iron. An entrepreneur by the name of Bill Bowerman had 
given him these shoes, which became the basis of a little Oregon-based 
company we like to call Nike. Although he just missed making the 1972 
Olympic team, that run--and the nearly 150,000 miles he's covered 
during the streak, an average of about 9 miles a day for 45 years--
secured Mark's spot as a running icon.
  Nevertheless, Covert's true impact has been on the many hundreds of 
students he's coached over the years. He instilled in them not only the 
skills needed to be successful athletes, but perhaps more important, 
the skills needed to be successful in life, especially dedication and 
perseverance in the face of obstacles.
  While few of us will choose to take on the challenge of running every 
single day for 45 years, we can all strive to learn from and perhaps 
live by his main principle: Never Miss. He may physically end his 
streak on July 23, but his dogged determination and commitment to 
leading by example will carry on.

                          ____________________