- November 23, 2024
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Four years ago, Ron Zimmet Jr. made a New Year's resolution that transformed his life.
Run at least one mile every day.
"I used to hate running," the Ormond Beach resident said. "Then I started running in the morning and it really changed my day."
When he made his New Year's resolution, he was already running about 320 days a year, Zimmet said. He thought it would be fun to see if he could do it for 365 days.
And he did. So the next year, he upped the ante: His new goal is to run every day for the rest of his life.
Come Jan. 1, 2024, Zimmet, a local attorney, will be celebrating four years of running daily.
"Every day is the first day of the rest of your life," Zimmet said. "If you change your perspective, you can change your life."
That's a message a friend's father used to say all the time, Zimmet recalled, and it's stuck with him.
His morning routine consists of waking up at 4 a.m. to enjoy some quiet, having his coffee and then heading to the gym. After working out, he'll go off on his run, usually on the beach. When he's done, he likes to take a dip in the water too before heading to work.
"My goal is not to go fast, or to go far," Zimmet said. "It's just to go every day for the rest of my life."
There were times he wanted to give up — days when fitting in a run were difficult, like when he and his family were headed on vacation or the few times he's been sick.
"It's taken me to run in strange places," he said.
One time, he ran through the casino floors at the Hard Rock Hotel in South Florida. On the weekends, he runs local trails with his wife.
Running has also helped Zimmet deal with daily stressors. It's made him a more positive person, overall, he said.
"And you have energy," he said. "So instead of being tired, you've got all this energy, so you can live with positivity, and joy and gratitude."
