Michael Runs Baltimore

By: Michael Lisicky

I have been a loyal Charm City Run customer for over 13 years. I know that because I have run every day, every day – no exceptions, since September 6, 2010. That’s almost 4900 consecutive days. I realized as a lifelong heavy set, now 59 year old, person, I had to take back my health and appearance. 

I chose running because I suffer from painful osteoarthritis in my hands. As a 20+ year oboist in the Baltimore Symphony, I can’t afford any more stress on my hands. So I chose running. And I never regretted one day.

You may have seen me in a recent Baltimore Banner article or a WMAR or WBFF news story. If not, I am the person who has been running every street, EVERY street, in Baltimore city and I have been doing so for 5-8 miles a day, since July 6. I took it on as a personal challenge and it has been an amazing experience.

And February 12, 2024, I officially ran Baltimore. All of Baltimore. Every street. It took over eight months of running every single day. I spent 3-4 hours a day out on every street, not just dedicated to run the route but determined to learn and experience every neighborhood.

In some ways, running is the only way to fully explore a city or place. You can’t walk through every neighborhood and not appear out a place and you can’t drive without look suspicious. Running puts you in that safe middle ground. You are a guest in a neighborhood and most every day you feed off of simple pleasantries and greetings. You find that in every neighborhood. 

I never knew what I was going to find but every day I would learn so much from a place I thought I knew; I would see positives and understand challenges. I would see what works, what doesn’t. But when you see what works, or discover that hidden house or neighborhood, it’s such an uplifting and personal experience.

Over the past 13+ years, I cannot recall buying a running shoe other than at your store. (I like the $25 credit.) And the only shoe I’ve worn is Brooks Beast, period. John Senatore is my doctor and that’s the shoe, with an orthotic, that was meant for me, somebody with “Fred Flintstone Feet.” Charm City Run is the only place I’ve gone.

You can follow my blog at michaelrunsbaltimore.com. I’m not the world’s greatest athlete and I didn’t set out to accomplish the unthinkable. This was about completing a personal project but it turned into so much more.