"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Friday, 20 July 2012

The 10km A Day Challenge


The 10km a day challenge was thrown at me via a local forum and I was quite eager to join the fun. What is it all about? To run an average of 10km a day for a year for a total of 3650km (2268 miles).

Mmmm… somehow 10km a day sounds easier than 3650km (2268 miles) a year. 70km (43.5 miles) per week doesn’t sound that much either. But is it doable?

The challenge is bigger than it might look. First of all most of us (normal people that we are)J don’t run 7 days a week. A lot of runners don’t even run 5 days per week. That makes the 70km per week a lot harder to keep up. Remember the challenge is 3650km for an average of 70km per week and an average of 10km per day. Obviously we all have weeks with more and weeks with less distance than that.

Anyway, I’ve taken up the challenge to run 3650km from 4 June 2012 to 3 June 2013. Why these dates? This is South Africa and everything running is done from Comrades to Comrades. That is the South African running year. J

My progress so far is:

Weeks done: 6
Weeks to go: 46
Km done: 426
Km required: 3224
Average per week: 71
Average required: 70.09

Week1:  84
Week2:  80
Week3:  83
Week4:  69
Week5:  56 (Includes Num-Num race)
Week6:  54 (Includes Num-Num recovery)

I’ve decided to share my progress on my blog as I find the challenge interesting and entertaining. I think it will help with motivation to keep me going. J

Speaking about motivation…Anette just published a blog about the topic.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Keep it going!

21 comments:

Michael said...

Wow that's a pretty awesome challenge!! Good luck getting there! I'm sure you can do it. I don't think I could :)

Anette said...

As I have recently said...I have a crazy husband! Good luck with this my love!

Unknown said...

Johann, this is AMAZING! You are such a inspiration. Can't wait to watch you conquer this challenge! :-)

Jerry Smallwood said...

Having run that amount last year, I can certainly tell you it is quite hard. I obviously did not run every day but it certainly averaged out that way concidering I did quite a few ultramarathons :-)

ajh said...

That sounds very tough. I could not run 7 days a week. My body is liking the variety I give it. But good luck to you. I almost think the bigger number would work better for you than every day. You must run a lot of miles in a year with all your long races.

Ewa said...

Johann, this is quite a challenge but somehow I think it will be easy for you.
I love it how runners' in SA celendar goes.

Good luck!

Giorgio said...

You can reach your goal ... although 10 km a day from 4 June 2012 to 3 June 2013 is tough enough for us, normal people :) I'm curious to follow your challenge!

misszippy said...

Cool challenge! I am happy to see it has to be an average rather than a daily thing! Looks like you are off to a great start.

Mike said...

Good luck on your goal!!

Liz said...

I'm too afraid of injury to run everyday, and 10K is quite a distance to go daily! You're such an experienced runner though, I'm sure you can handle it! Well done, enjoy it.

Unknown said...

That's a big challenge. Good luck with it!

HappyTrails said...

Next year, go American style and make it 10 myles per day ;-) Good job on tackling the challenge - it fits you well Johann!

Average Woman Runner said...

Phew! That's a big one. Many health advocates here push people to get 10,000 STEPS in each day, throughout your day. That is do-able for many people. 10k meters is going big leagues! GOOD LUCK!

Detroit Runner(Jeff) said...

That's quite a goal. Looks like you are doing great so far. Good luck with it.

Kate Geisen said...

Wow, Johann! I'm doing well to run 10k a week these days! Very cool challenge...if anyone can do it, it's you, Mr. Consistency. :)

Paul said...

THat will be TOUGH. AN no marathon maniac stars for doing it ...boo. Should be something!

Char said...

I know I couldn't do it at the moment but I'm pretty sure that if anyone can, it's you Johann. And you're off to a great start.

Unknown said...

10K a day sounds like a fun chalenge!

Lindsay said...

I always want to do a run-everyday challenge of sorts but I think my body needs a total day of rest sometimes... Definitely sounds cool! Good luck! Streak for me :)

Theia said...

Lofty goal!!! I couldn't do it. Just be sure to stay healthy!

Ketan - www.ketans.com said...

Hi...nice to hear... did you complete the goal...