In 1970 Robert Kraft came back home to South Beach from Nashville and Las Vegas, where he tried to make it as a songwriter.
He started running with some boxers from the 5th Street Gym and slowly built up to 8 miles He made a New Years resolution to run 8 miles a day for one year starting on January 1st, 1975. He found the benefits mentally, physically and spiritually were all positive so he kept running 8 miles a day on the sands of South Beach
He has ran everyday since. (never missing a day). Over 600 runners ranging in age from 9 to 79, from 54 different countries and 42 states have completed at least one 8 mile run with him
Everyone who completes the 8 miles gets a nickname and is added to The Raven List. This is a run, not a race although many of the Raven Runners train for races, Raven trains to come back tomorrow.
Raven has the longest known world running streak on the sand and in the same location. He has seen every sunset, never been caught in rush hour traffic and turned what was a negative into a positive becoming an inspiration to others. |
Join The Raven any day at::
8 MILE RUN:
5th Street Lifeguard Station
5:00 pm
Miami Beach
1/3 MILE SWIM
5th Street Lifeguard Station
After the run
Miami Beach
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Lifeguard muders near completion |
Reverend, working in seclution while in Baltimore is nearing the completion of the much awaited black humor, mistery, beach lore, "Lifeguard Muders" Novel. Expect Raven, runners, lifeguard and coaches real life like characters. Expect some of the best Raven Original Songs in CD to be included in the book. We are now taking orders for the first autographed copies. |
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Miracle swims 8.3 miles !!! |
| Miracle completes a 8.3 mile swim. Longest swim by a runner. Breaking Chapter 11's swim record set 6 years ago. |
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NBC aired 1/3 of a century on Sunday May 25th. |
For those of you unable to catch the show, check our media section. |
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True TV filming Ocean Force and Raven Runners on the beach |
Look for True TV's Ocean Force every Monday at 8:00 pm on TRUE TV. Catch Raven and the Runners among all other wackos on the beach. |
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Firecracker reaches 800 runs on the 4th of July |
Our very own Firecracker reached 800 runs appropiately on the 4th of July. She is the top female runner with more than double the runs of the 2nd place "Bookworm". |
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Poutine gets swim #100 |
In her quest to get 200 runs and 100 swims for 2008, Poutine completed her 66th swim in 2008 to reach a total of 100. Well on her way to becoming athlete of the year. |
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Sleeze Buster gets run #100 |
For someone who does not live in Miami, Sleeze Buster maximizes his time on the beach to reach 100 runs. |
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Sailor reaches 100 swims. |
After reaching 99 swims in 2005, Sailor has finally reached 100 swims. One time Lifeguard in Atlantic City, NJ, still has the stroke !!! |
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14 new runners in July |
| Bedrock, 7 & 7, mini texter, Drastic, Linebacker, Beast, Smoking Ace, Seaside Sparrow, Flaca, Hitter, Red Bull, Star Trader, Reppeler and Foreigner joined the Raven Run in July 2008. |
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Sgt. Comic into top 100 |
Always a fun pun on the run, Sgt Comic gained a spot in the TOP 100. Never a dull moment when Sgt Comic is around. |
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Wishing a speedy recovery for Abdul |
After finishing chemotherapy to treat a brain cancer, Abdul is on his way to a full recovery as he showed us in July by completing one of his best runs and swims. Our prayers are with him. |
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98,000 miles on July 23rd |
Raven reached another outrageous milestone on July 23rd. 98,000 miles. |
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Raven runners mourn the passing of Coach Flashlight Man. |
Flashlight Man (known for his finds on the beach while using a flashlight, and his attempted assasination of President Clinton left us at the young age of 55. The beach is a lot darker without him |
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2008 Coach of the year candidate Bohemian leaves us. |
Dignified homeless Bohemian who never asked anyone for a handout, left us much to soon at age 57. His ocean view campsite at 100 Ocean drive East in the dunes by Nikki Beach is still occupied by his free spirit. |
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Miracle swims 8.3 miles !!! |
| Miracle completes a 8.3 mile swim. Longest swim by a runner. Breaking Chapter 11's swim record set 6 years ago. |
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Elvis Run |
Raynbeau Ray ran the 8 miles dressed as Elvis. Thank you, thank you very much. |
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4th of July Flag Run |
Firecracker, Ozark, Creeve, Hollywood Flasher, Tonka, Longhorn and a couple of other runners, carried the US Flag on the Beach for the 4th of July Run |
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Coldest Run at 47 degrees on January 2nd |
Salt Shaker, Poutine, Reunity, Famished, joined the Raven for the coldest run for Raven Runners ever. By 1 degree. |
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Freshman & Salt Shaker combine for a 5 1/2 mile soccer ball run |
Freshman and Salt Shaker kicked a soccer ball to each other for 5 1/2 miles of the run. Surprisingly they did not score a goal |
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Tonka Backpack Soft Sand Run |
Tonka carried a Backpack with over 20 lbs for the full 8 miles on the soft sand. Great start for his goal of completing a 26 hour run. |
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Raven's Streak |
| 33 Years, 8 miles a day. over 97,000 miles . Never missing a single day since January 1st 1975 . |
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Days Raven has not run alone: |
| The Raven has ran alone twice in this century (last time in 2005) let's keep the streak going !!! over 1,200 days. |
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1 new runner every month : |
| At least one new runner has joined the Raven Run every month since April 2003. Keep recruiting, after all it is free. |
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Dizzy Reaches the big 50 on August 27th |
| A top 10 runner, Dizzy reaches 50 years young on August 27th. Chasing Springman for the most runs without a partial |
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Termite turns 50 August 10th |
| Looking trimmer, strong and reaching for his 100th run goal, Termite will turn 50 on August 10th. 19 years on the run. |
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Trauma Queen turns 50 on August 11th |
| Appropiate birthday of August 11th for Trauma Queen ( her father is Chapter 11th). Fully recovered from knee surgery we look forward to having her come down from Virginia to join the run once again. |
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Courageous turns 40 on August 9th |
| Always a positive force on the run, we hope that Courageous will return to the beach to claim once again a spot in the top 100 |
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Taxman |
| Taxman has his own theme song by Firecracker. He knows the secret handshake and has actually seen and ran with Mortgage Man |
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Chapter 11 |
| Every airline he worked for went out of business. But his constant desire to push himself to the limit of physical stamina did not go banrkrupt |
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Izzy and Gipsy: |
| the first couple to meet on a Raven Run and marry (plus a baby this year). Love Story ! |
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Firecracker |
| Belling dancing, drumming, and your financial expert. Firecracker will do it all and she won't be quiet about it. |
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Sapphire |
| She always runs with no shoes and has become one of the favorite runners in the group She has spent half her live running with Raven. Turned 5 this summer . or is it 35? |
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Gringo |
| Gringo loves everything Latin, thus the nickname. He i s one of the most loveable runners on the Raven Run |
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