Running near waterways is my default when I get the choice. Lakes, rivers and canals feel calmer than roads. The pace settles, my head clears, and the run does what I need it to do. Most runners I speak to say the same.

Today was Day 2121 of my daily run streak, and the lake gave me a lesson I had not planned for.

What happened on the run

I was running around a lake in the morning. Swans were out on the water, and a few had come onto the path to rest. That is normal. At certain times of day, birds leave the water and sit on the footpath beside it.

The problem is that you have to run past them. My first assumption, and I suspect most runners make it, is that I am bigger than the bird, so it will move. Most of the time it does. Today one did not.

As I got closer, one swan raised its hackles, fluffed its wings up behind it and started hissing at me. It was not a bluff I wanted to test. I stepped off the path onto the grass and gave it as wide a berth as I could. Nothing happened. I carried on with the run.

Why I took it seriously

I recently read an article about a person who was attacked by a swan and had their arm broken by a wing strike. I cannot verify the details, so I will only say what I read. It was enough to change how I think about a bird that looks calm on the water.

A swan hissing and spreading its wings is telling you something. It is defending space, and depending on the season and what is going on in its world, it may not back down. I do not need to win that argument. I need to finish my run.

I have written about this kind of thing before. I have been charged at by cows, including calves. A bull once charged me, which I would not recommend to anyone. I have also talked about running near stray dogs. Birds were the one category I had not covered, and I think that is because they look harmless.

I also passed a few darker birds, brown and black, similar in size to a swan. I thought they might be mongoose, but I am not sure of that and my wildlife knowledge is not up to much. Whatever they were, they behaved like geese and swans. If you see that behaviour, the same advice applies.

What I do now

This is not expert advice. It is what I do on my own runs.

Give birds on the path a wide berth, and do it early. Do not wait until you are one stride away.

Leave the path if you need to. Grass, a verge or a short detour costs seconds.

Watch the signs. Raised wings, a lowered head, hissing or a bird walking towards you all mean the space is theirs.

Do not push through to keep a pace. A pace is not worth an injury.

Be extra careful on canals and nature reserves, where birds are used to people and used to holding their ground.

Why this matters for a streak

I run barefoot-style every day. The streak only exists if I stay uninjured. A broken arm from a swan would not just hurt. It would put at risk something I have built over 2121 consecutive days.

That is the part of consistency people do not talk about much. Showing up daily is not only about motivation. It is about the small decisions that keep you able to show up tomorrow. Stepping onto the grass for ten seconds is one of those decisions. It is not dramatic, and nobody would notice, but it is how a streak survives.

I have learned this repeatedly over the years. Most of the risk in a long streak is not the hard sessions. It is ordinary things: a path, an animal, a moment of assuming it will be fine. Discipline includes staying alert on the easy runs.

The mission behind the miles

I am running a lap of the world, 40,075 km, filming a vlog every day, barefoot-style, to raise £1M for children's causes. After today my cumulative distance is 16,304.15 km, which leaves 23,770.85 km to go.

That is a long way, and it only works one day at a time. The more people who see the vlog, the more people can support the cause. That is why I film it daily, and why I want to protect the streak that carries it.

If you run near water

Enjoy it. I will keep doing it because it is good for my head and good for the run. Just treat the wildlife as part of the route, not scenery. Respect the space of anything that looks irritated, take the wider line, and carry on.

If you have had a run-in with a swan, a goose or anything else near a lake or canal, tell me in the comments. I read them and respond where I can.

If you believe in the mission, you can subscribe, share or follow the journey. I will be out again tomorrow for Day 2122.

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/2e_ZWWrsj_Q