Wisconsin Run Challenge: Part I

One of the biggest challenges of living in Wisconsin is that it is difficult to stay motivated to run during the winter months. When the wind is whipping outside, the temperature has dipped well below freezing, and there is snow and ice on the sidewalks and roads, it is pretty easy to say "I'm going to pass today." In Jody's case, running during these next few months becomes an even greater challenge because, as a CPA, this is her busy season.

Last year, we sought a way to keep us both motivated when it was either too cold and nasty to run outside or find the way to the gym.

Our solution: The Wisconsin Run Challenge.

In simple terms, this is a virtual race. "Winner buys dinner." Instead of running the same route and a distance that could be accomplished within a "normal" race period (i.e., a 5K, 10K, etc.), we extended the finish line so it would take us several weeks to reach our respective destinations. Also, because I run more often, the distances needed to be different. For example, last year, for one "race," Jody ran the equivalent distance from Milwaukee to Madison (about 75 miles) and I ran the equivalent distance from Milwaukee to Green Bay (about 126 miles).

The final piece of the challenge is the proverbial carrot. Last year, we had four separate races, two of which involved the runner-up (yes, I just said that) buying the winner something nice and edible and/or practical. For the first challenge, a nice dinner was at stake, and for the second challenge, a new pair of running shoes went to the victor.

We used Excel to keep track of our mileage. (I'm sure you can set up these types of competitions using running apps like MapMyRun, Strava, or Fitbit, but I've found Excel works just fine for us.) After each workout, we would add the distance to an Excel spreadsheet. Another area of the spreadsheet was used to determine how far each of us still had to go -- in other words, who was winning:

As you can see, Jody whipped my butt on our first race last year, but I will save that story for next week.

Overall, we accomplished our goal last year. This challenge created just enough competition to keep us active with the limited number of daylight hours and winter weather, both of which made it difficult to run or make it to the gym. I hope this works again this year, speaking of which...

This year's first challenge is set:

What's at stake? A brand new pair of running shoes.