Who doesn’t love a good ole friendly challenge? Being runners, this is nothing we’re not used to, already seeing as how so many of us enjoy races. However, have you ever thought about all the different ways you can make running, or other activities for that matter, interesting and still challenging?
It’s been a growing trend the last several years to have different challenges to take on in the name of physical activity. Many are familiar with the interpersonal challenges you can take on within your fitness trackers (Garmin, Fitbit, Apple Watch to name a few) or apps like Strava if that’s more your speed. It’s starting to grow even more with those challenges being taken off the screen in the running and athletic communities. We’ve talked to a few members about some physical activity related challenges they chose to take on in the past and present, written across a few articles for this month’s Flyer. You can find those articles here and here.
In case you missed it, the city of Winston-Salem held its own challenge for the leap year through the Leap Year Challenge. This challenge, you put in miles through any means necessary to accumulate a total of 29 miles across the 29 days in February. This included, but was not limited to, walking, running, cycling, rollerblading, rowing, etc. And it’s not too late to join. Email Katie Andrew at [email protected] to receive a mileage tracking form and submit completed form by March 5 to be entered into a drawing for a WePlay prize pack.
This isn’t exactly new either, but if you’re familiar with Fleet Feet, you’ve probably heard of some of the Streak Fest challenges. This challenge has a few variations. The basis is all the same: You’re running every day of a given month for a certain mileage minimum after registering online. The variation comes in when you may be preparing for an upcoming event that’s related to the challenge, there was one at the end of 2023 in preparation for Mistletoe Half. There are several streak fest or related challenges throughout the year from Fleet Feet, so head to the store or online to find out what other challenges they have in store for the running community.
Be sure to follow a few of our local racing and timing companies as well. A few of them have their own challenges you can partake in. Jones Racing Company put out the Frosty to Fit Challenge, which is a three-month challenge to complete a distance of your choosing. It can be as small as 100 miles, all the way up to 800 miles. Don’t be afraid to drag your friends into it also! These options do in fact come with a buddy option. You can have up to five friends join you to take on the mileages. With your registration comes a few cool milestone bragging rights as well as swag!
In addition, these challenges go far beyond running. As the intro stated, a few other articles written by some great community members talk about some challenges relating to pushups and other aspects of generally getting fit. These are just a few activities you can partake in to help make physical activities, which honestly are already challenging, more appealing to fit goals you may have. Some of these goals could be to get more fit, of course, building a routine to get into a habit, generally trying something new, among so many more.
What’s great about these challenges is they’re personal to you and helps you to reach your individual fitness goals. You still shouldn’t forget about the challenges within your fitness apps if you have access to them, as they provide methods for different challenges too that you may not have thought of. Some are dedicated to certain days of the year, and you can get coupons for great products, as well as getting to know some of the metrics that go into the fancy measurements you see across the app.