SALT LAKE CITY — Every day, rain or shine, Jim Donovan runs.

He doesn't run to lose weight; he doesn't run to train for a race. He runs because he loves the release the sport offers him, even when his only adversary is the clock.

Donovan was a member of MIT's crew team and a member of the U.S. National Team from 1990-1991. But in 1993, finished with college and starting a career with Goldman Sachs, he yearned for something that might take the place of rowing.

"I had been running to stay in shape for rowing," he said. "Running is the closest thing to rowing that I've experienced. It's very strenuous."

He runs the same distance every day, in any kind of weather, regardless of what is going on in his life. He was so committed to the daily run that he sloughed off jet lag, no sleep and a brutal work schedule to run.

"I would do it in the dark, in Frankfurt, in London, wherever I was," Donovan said. "It's the way I start my day … Sometimes I would literally not sleep, but I got my run in."

Donovan runs five miles at roughly six minutes per mile, and maybe the most unique thing about his ritual is that he doesn't do it so he can win or compete in races.

"My runs are not training," he said. "They are three things. They are a stress reliever … Two, it's a way for me to stay in shape. I like being in shape. It makes me feel more competitive in the work environment. Actually, in everything I do, I feel better. I'm able to teach better, speak better — I just feel better. And three, when I don't do it, I feel terrible. If I don't run, I feel horrible."

Five years ago he woke up with a temperature of 104 degrees, feeling dizzy, nauseated and exhausted. He went to the hospital and they kept him for the day — he'd come down with pneumonia.

"I couldn't run for two more days," he said. "I went out as soon as I could. I made up for the runs I couldn't do. I ran 15 miles. I think my body needed it. I think my body needs to run … And I need to do it in the morning."

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Donovan is grateful he found running; it has taught him a lot about life — even if he's only competed in races occasionally (usually at someone else's request or for a good cause).

"Four or five minutes into my run is when I start thinking," he said. "I often find I won't look at my watch again until I'm almost done."

Donovan attended graduate school at Harvard and has worked the last two decades for Goldman Sachs, currently as managing partner. The father of four also teaches at the University of Virginia School of Law part time.

"Teaching is one of the things I enjoy most," he said.

The lessons he's learned from committing to a daily run help him in other areas of his life.

"It's consistent with my never-give-up, hard-driving mentality," Donovan said. "I don't kill myself on my runs. But doing it everyday, regardless of sleep is hard and sometimes very painful. I do it no matter what."

He said his consistency has paid off. "I never have been injured," he said. "Never gotten faster or slower."

That does not mean every run (or morning for that matter) is pain free.

"I have twinges of hip pain and not a great back from rowing," he said, "but it has not stopped me from doing it. I just run. I love it."

Twitter: adonsports email: adonaldson@desnews.com

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