One Utahn Sets Goal To Run Every Street In Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, UTah — Chase Murdock owns a custom suit shop downtown. He’s a successful businessman with another full-time job and a family.

“I’ve got a busy schedule, and there’s different priorities,” he said.

One of his priorities is to slip away on his lunch break, because he’s got a big goal.

“I want to run every street in Salt Lake City,” Murdock said.

That includes every cul de sac and turn — all 1500 streets.

“Some people wonder, ‘Why are you doing this? It’s a waste of time. What’s the point?’” he said.

But for Murdock, it’s a way to see the city and to check off his fitness goals.

“I love the mountains. I love the different neighborhoods and the personality they have,” he explained.

About two years ago, Murdock said he wasn’t in the best shape and didn’t have presence of mind.

“I was so busy,” he said. “I was always overwhelmed that I felt like I needed to start taking my health a little bit more seriously. So I just started getting on the treadmill at the gym every once in a while and I bought a Fitbit.”

He started out slowly.

“At first, it was just hitting my step goal,” Murdock said.

Over time, he became more and more active.

“Next thing I knew, I was running a couple times a week and the runs just started getting longer and I started having more fun doing it,” he said.

Intermountain Healthcare’s Dr. Ky Dorsey encourages people to start with a simple goal and work up to a larger accomplishment.

“In two or three months’ time, I will have made the habit of actually doing something that’s the most important thing,” Dorsey explained. “And then I can modify it as I go, to be more aggressive to fit my needs [and] fit my goals.”

Murdock’s goal of running every street in Salt Lake City allows him to do exactly that.

“I’ll be able to stay focused on hitting my weekly and monthly mileage goals. I’m training for a marathon and it’s a really good way to introduce these little small wins throughout my training,” he said.

Murdock said running has significantly improved his time management skills.

“You have to find how you fit that in and build your life around that,” he said.

Even though his schedule is different every day, Murdock makes a plan every week to stay on track at the beginning of the week.

“Sometimes, I have to get up a little early for a meeting and so I have to fit it in over lunch,” he said.

Plus, finding time to run every street requires some work.

“You sometimes have to go to great lengths to figure out where you haven’t run, and to park your car, and then to go out and run those routes,” Murdock said.

It took him weeks to finish all of South Temple.

However, Murdock said this strategy makes running a little more fun. He uses an app called City Stride, which tracks his distance through a GPS.

Murdock said progressing towards a goal is rewarding.

“Whether it’s a hill or whether it’s a career challenge, a personal relationship challenge, being able to see that you’re better as a result of it. I think that (is) the truest form of happiness,” he said. “For me, running is just the perfect metaphor for so many things in my life,” he added. “If I can really work at it. There’s no cheat codes … there will be setbacks, but in the end, you’ll be a little bit better because of it if you’re disciplined.”

Murdock has completed ten percent of the city, but he’s determined to see his goal to the end.

“It’s my favorite city in the world,” he said.