Miami Beach running legend fights foreclosure as supporters raise money

State of play: The 75-year-old retiree owes more than $78,000 in unpaid maintenance fees and other charges stemming from special assessments imposed by his condo building, according to records filed in a 2025 lawsuit.

• Raven tells Axios he fell behind on payments after his monthly bill jumped from $420 to around $3,000 a month.

As he tries to save his home, Raven finds strength in his running streak and his community of Raven Runners, even as he wonders how much longer his body can take it.

• A bad back means Raven now requires a cane to walk to the beach, where he begins his daily jogs.
• Once he steps onto the sand, he feels better, but it's still a daily struggle to keep alive a streak he started in 1975.
• Nearly 4,000 runners from around the world have run alongside him, making up a community that helped raise over $33,000 for a GoFundMe in his honor.

For Raven, the streak has been his salvation, but his body is failing him at a time when his mind needs an escape more than ever.

• "Some nights, I go to sleep, and I don't want to wake up to face all this. I got people who depend on me, and every day I get out there to run and work out at Muscle Beach … and it brings me back. How long can I keep doing it?"

A familiar story

If Raven taps his life savings and the donations from his supporters, he says he believes he can pay off what he owes.

• But he still needs to pay his legal fees. The head of the condo association is asking for Raven to pay his, too.
• Raven's monthly Social Security check and some investments may not be enough to support him long-term, he says.

Zoom out: Similar stories are playing out across South Florida, as condo safety laws and rising insurance costs have driven maintenance fees up.

• Fixed-income condo owners often face difficult decisions like selling or taking in a roommate.

Catch up quick: Since 2023, Raven's building has been managed by a court-appointed special master, David Swilley, who was tasked with completing repairs in one of the units after the owners sued.

• Swilley imposed more than $473,000 in special assessments — split among the seven unit owners — to pay for the repairs and other work related to the building's 50-year recertification, per court documents.
• In 2024, Raven began to fall behind on these payments. By the end of that year, he owed more than $46,000.

What they're saying: "It jumped up every time I turned around," Raven says.

• Unit owners were informed via email of the assessments, but Raven says he did not see them because he's not good with computers.
• Two of his neighbors also faced potential foreclosure after owing upward of $60,000 in maintenance fees. One sold. The other entered into a payment plan.

The other side: In court filings, Swilley said the building had been run "very poorly" prior to his appointment, with no financial reports and little maintenance.

• Swilley wrote in court filings that the lack of payment from unit owners meant the building did not have enough money to pay for repairs.

Between the lines: Raven says that by the time he realized his debt was piling up, he thought it might be a mistake and ignored it. He said he tried to contact Swilley about how much he owed, but never heard back.

• In court, Raven has argued that Swilley overcharged him for the assessments and did not properly follow the required foreclosure procedures.
• Swilley, who did not respond to Axios' request for comment, denied this in court filings.

What's next: As he awaits a resolution, Raven wonders whether he will end up on the streets.

• If he did, he figures a good spot would be under the Third Street sign recently co-designated "Robert Raven Kraft Way" in his honor.
• That inspired the singer-songwriter to turn his sorrow into song.
• "I never thought I'd be homeless, as long as I've been around," he sang for a reporter recently. "When you're up, everybody's your friend. But no one's there when you're down."