BALTIMORE — If you printed out a map of a city you've lived in for almost 20 years, could you recognize every street?
Michael Lisicky will soon be able to answer "yes" to that question.
"I have never had an experience like this," he said.
Five months ago, he set out on a mission to run every single street in Baltimore City - a city he thought he knew well.
"Do you know that there's a goat farm up here?" he asks, excitedly, pointing at a map. "Everyone needs to check out this goat farm on the Northern Parkway."
"When I first started running, I started in Brooklyn. There was that horrible shooting this summer. I don't know Brooklyn. Let's get to know Brooklyn!" he thought.
Although this particular project is a recent one, Lisicky's journey really started in 2010, when he decided to take control of his health.
He plays oboe for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra - which led to arthritis in his hands. So, it was up to his feet.
"I sat my wife down, and said, I need to tell you something. And she's like, what's gonna come out of his mouth? And it was - I wanna try running. And that was 4,834 days ago without missing one day."
Yes, you read that right. He has ran every single day for more than 13 years. But this year, he got bored.
"I'm just trying to do something, I guess, crazy," Lisicky said.
Lisicky is old school. Instead of using apps on his smartphone to get around the city, he uses — this.
"Every night I just kind of look at this and wonder where I'm gonna go next. I look at it almost like a geometry problem to see how many angles I can do properly without re-running a street," Lisicky said.
But he's not just putting one foot in front of the other. He's actively searching for signs of hope in every neighborhood he passes through. And - he's finding it.
"It can be as small as a good morning. It can be as small as seeing somebody on a Saturday morning cleaning their streets," Lisicky said.
That hope is what keeps him lacing up his running shoes each day, and crossing off street after street on his map.
He's learning about his city, himself, and best of all -
"I've learned so much more about the inherent niceness of people and pride, and that's really important these days."
Of course, we asked him how he plans to celebrate when he accomplishes his mission. He says he hasn't thought that far ahead yet, but he assumes, he'll probably go for a run the next day.
You can follow along with his journey here.
