Fitness Challenge

It’s that time of the year where the sun is coming out and everyone is starting to go outside and enjoy the outdoors a little more. This means taking a step back from the computer a little more and absorbing some Vitamin D. It also means trying to work a little harder at getting rid of that “winter hibernation weight” that some of us (myself included) have built up.

Last year, Rudi Shumpert and I did just that and challenged each other to walk 70 miles in the month of June. We worked on a daily basis to make sure that we were keeping up with each other on mileage, and definitely saw some competitive nature come out along the way (“Dang it, he is now 2 miles ahead of me…guess i’m walking a little further tonight because that can’t stand”). When we hit 70 miles on the 20th of the month, we decided we couldn’t stop there. We pushed on and decided that we were going to go for the full century (100 miles). We both accomplished this feat in the last couple days of the month. It proved to be one of the more challenging fitness-related things that I have ever done, but also one of the most rewarding.

Fast forward to this year. June is coming up and I decided that I wanted to do this again. After talking with Rudi a little, we both decided that it would be a lot of fun, but we needed to change it up a little. This year, we want to include others and do it, not just for ourselves and our own fitness, but also for a CHARITY.

Charity

I am going to be walking in Relay for Life on June 28th this year in order to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. The team i’m walking for is in honor of my former friend/boss who passed away this last year after a long battle with cancer. While he was a tragic loss, he is only one of many people that each of us have known that have either successfully or unsuccessfully, battled cancer in the past. Therefore, we are recommending that we use the following donation page for this challenge.
Team John – Living Strong

So, here is what i’m inviting everyone who wants to participate to do.

Fitness Challenge – June, 2014

  • Run/Walk/Cycle/Roller Skate/Skip/etc… (or all of the above!) a pre-defined number of miles in the month of June. We debated on making this a set number of miles, but decided that it would be best for everyone to set their own distance at the beginning of the month.  Just try and set it to something challenging.
  • Try and raise $100 for either the challenge charity or for the charity of your choice
  • Spread the word and get others to take part as well! Some companies will even match whatever donations you get.
  • We are going to be using RunKeeper to keep track of everyone’s progress and we would encourage everyone to do the same.  Although, some of us will also be using other tools as well (e.g. Nike+, Runtastic, MapMyRun, etc…)
  • We are going to be using a Facebook page for everyone to encourage each other and share progress along the way.
  • Most importantly, HAVE FUN! The point of this is not to be a chore, but for you to get out and be active and have fun in the process. We will hopefully have a good group of people taking part in this challenge. This means that we can all encourage and challenge each other along the way

Want to take part? Let us know on the Facebook page.  We will be posting progress along the way and, well, let’s face it, what kind of analyst would I be if I didn’t post some stats along the way as well.

Let’s Do This!!