Robert "Raven" Kraft Celebrates 50 Years of Running on New Year's Eve

This New Year's Eve will mark the 50th year that Robert "Raven" Kraft has run the sands of South Beach. Each and every day for five decades, whether rain, shine, hurricane, or pandemic, he's been a steady jogging presence. That's 18,263 consecutive days of not taking a day off from running. Over 50 years that totals 145,526 miles. To put that distance in perspective, the circumference of planet Earth is under 25,000 miles.

To celebrate this preposterous feat, the City of Miami Beach is naming a section of Ocean Drive after Raven. Third Street and Ocean Drive will forever now be known as Robert "Raven" Kraft Way and will feature a commemorative plaque bearing his name. The commemoration ceremony will begin at 3:30 p.m. on December 31 and will kick off a whole afternoon and evening celebrating his 50th-anniversary run.

"There will be a lot of people talking and hopefully a few people listening," Raven jokes to New Times during a rainy December run. Over his half-century of running, more than 3,000 people have joined him on his eight-mile route. Every jogger who completes the run is bestowed a nickname by Raven, which he shouts out during a roll call at the start of each subsequent run. He's excited by how many nicknames he will get to shout out at the 50th-anniversary run that will set off at 4:30 p.m. "I've got people from all over who said they're going to come out for this," he adds.

One of the runners who will join him on the anniversary trot is Stephen W. DeBoer, one of the few people in the world with a longer active consecutive day running streak than Raven's 50 years. "He lives in Minnesota, so he says his runs are harder in the cold winter. If you come out in July or August, you'd see it can be pretty tough to run here, too," Raven says.

At 8 p.m., after the run, the festivities will continue at the Art Deco Welcome Center. "We'll have some food and drinks, and maybe I'll sing a couple of songs," says Raven, who has written more than 1,800 tracks.

Raven is using this feat as a fundraiser as well. In the last couple of years, the fees for the South Beach apartment he bought in 1988 have grown unsustainable for him to continue to afford living there. "The former condominium president ran off with the building's money," Raven explains. "A judge appointed a special master, and he's charging fees that are impossible to pay. They're not even doing any work on the building. I went from paying $400 a month to last year when I had to pay $24,000. Now, he wants $40,000 more. They put a lien on my place already. I'm scared I'll come back from a run, and they'll have put a lock on my door."

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Raven pay for legal fees, which is described on the page as "the battle to keep his home." Raven Runners have also created Raven Run 50th anniversary hats and T-shirts, with the proceeds of each sale going towards his legal battle. Raven expresses gratitude for any help he can get and maintains a positive attitude that has helped him keep one foot in front of the other for what will be 50 years any day now.

Raven Run 50th Anniversary. 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 31, at Fifth Street Lifeguard Stand, Miami Beach. Post-run celebration 8 p.m. Tuesday, December 31, at Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach. Admission is free.