2010 challenge of a 1000 miles , what would you change

Woddle

Well it's nearly time to start from scratch again. I think it's been a huge success across all levels and I can't wait for the next one.
When motivation was low I used to check out the thread for the days movers and if donothoponpop had added a few miles well that was normally enough to get me out the door, then I found myself watching Jlang and Krusty and for a time I had hopes of a top 10

Anyway enough of that, I'm just curious to how we can make it better.
I was thinking for one, that you pretty much have to be in before you reach your 1000 so no jumping in when all is done as it's a race in it's own right and in a race you should be able to see your competition (misty )
Are people happy with miles or should we call it the 1,610 kilometers thread? (does not work for me but I can change with the times)

--amadeus--

I think the annual challenge is great - my only comment is that it's quite exclusive. If you're not in at the start you're left out really, so it might be nice to have a monthly challenge as well (100km thread to keep the metric heads happy?) while keeping the main 1000 miler going as well?

Woddle

Good idea or a possible mover of the week section under the 1000 list but maybe only do a top 5 for this

robinph

Not sure that is needs changing. Once everyone figured out how to update the posts it all seemed to run smoothly.

I plan to actually reach the 1000 next year.

Yeah, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' would be my view.

Going to give it a right proper effort next year!

littlebug

I like it how it is. I liked the A, B and C targets but I think the meanings may have got lost over time. I started in the C(250mile) zone but hope I can still hit the 500 (B) target by the end of the month.
Maybe if the different target zones were clearer (headings?) it would remove some of the exclusivity of the 1000 mile thing.... though I don't think that has put anyone off... in fairness there are loads of us in there for whom it's a motivational exercise in ranking up as many miles as possible as opposed to thinking we'll reach 1000.

It was a great idea Woddle. I don't think it has ever left the front page?

Eta... maybe change colour for hitting each target zone on the way up?

RacoonQueen

What about the 2000k challenge if you want to change to kilometres?

ekevosu

I like it the way it is now in miles. The different colours for the different landmarks, 250, 500, 750, 1000 is a good idea as littlebug suggested.

christeb

yeah I think it was finetoo, no changes needed. Sorry I didn't join in, as I didn't effectively run until Feb and I didn't want to be so far behind! But I'll be in it to win it this year (well at least beat Wod, misty, shels, robin et al....)

BeepBeep67

Maybe a 2nd thread could open for those that hit the 1k, I'd be interested to know the total annual mileage for the boardies that were hitting 1k in March / April.

Highway_To_Hell

I presume most people record their running time aswell as miles covered, would be interesting to see a total time running as well as miles covered.

hunnymonster

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Maybe a 2nd thread could open for those that hit the 1k, I'd be interested to know the total annual mileage for the boardies that were hitting 1k in March / April.

Just shy of 3000 in my case (if I keep same rate up until end of year). I was hoping to hit the 3000 but most of November was a write off.

Condo131

Probably a good idea to have a minimum entry hurdle, say 300 miles.

I went straight in at 1,000, much to Woddle's (and others!) dismay, so it's probably a good idea for people to have an idea of how people are going, rather than have dark horses pipping at the post.

Wrt Targets, in 1989 (I know, some of you guys weren't even born then ), I did just over 4,600 miles (over 7,400k) - now happy to get by on approx. 50 mpw (that's the target anyway - it varies)

Krusty_Clown

Highway_To_Hell wrote: »

I presume most people record their running time aswell as miles covered, would be interesting to see a total time running as well as miles covered.

Ahhh GPs watches. Where would we be without them?!
1,577 miles, in 207 hours 44 minutes, @7:54/mile, Average HR=146, Calories=209,026 (that's a lot of extra food!).

--amadeus--

Here's a spin for the IMRA guys... Garmins track elevation changes. Mt Everest is 29,000 feet high (give or take). I wonder if anyone would do teh equivalent of running up Everest in a year?

You could have intermediates for the highest mountain in Ireland and tehn teh 7 peaks from teh 7 continents on teh way up.

It would be very niche but quite interesting.

Krusty_Clown

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Here's a spin for the IMRA guys... Garmins track elevation changes. Mt Everest is 29,000 feet high (give or take). I wonder if anyone would do teh equivalent of running up Everest in a year?

You could have intermediates for the highest mountain in Ireland and tehn teh 7 peaks from teh 7 continents on teh way up.

It would be very niche but quite interesting.

Forgot to mention: Elevation gain: 74,008m (that's 242,807 feet). But the Garmin is completely flakey (unreliable) on altitute, and can differ massively from one watch (version) to another.

Sorry for de-railing this thread: The 1,000 mile challenge is perfect as is. Mark late arrivals in a different colour, or put them in a seperate table.

Oh, and Condo, that's incredible. In 1989, I smoked about 4,200 cigarettes, and drank about 1,200 pints. Would like to know more about training regimes in the '80s, but that's for a different thread.

christeb

--amadeus-- wrote: »

It would be very niche but quite interesting.

Agreed, although I think the Garmin's notorious elevation inaccuracies rules this out

hunnymonster

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Here's a spin for the IMRA guys... Garmins track elevation changes. Mt Everest is 29,000 feet high (give or take). I wonder if anyone would do teh equivalent of running up Everest in a year?

You could have intermediates for the highest mountain in Ireland and tehn teh 7 peaks from teh 7 continents on teh way up.

It would be very niche but quite interesting.

good idea although ZL would claim he ran that entire elevation in that "wee flat ultra" I had him do the day before DCM (it was actually only 2.5 km)

29000 ft (just shy of 9km) isn't that much over the course of a year for people who run on hilly terrain so maybe 7 highest peaks in the world or something like that?

hunnymonster

The other adaptation that might be worth considering is if there is anyway we can incorporate the triathletes. Maybe we need a completely separate thread or maybe we (i.e. ask Tunney nicely) we can equivilate say 10 miles on the bike = 1 running mile, 1 swimming mile = 5 running miles.

macinalli

--amadeus-- wrote: »

I think the annual challenge is great - my only comment is that it's quite exclusive. If you're not in at the start you're left out really, so it might be nice to have a monthly challenge as well (100km thread to keep the metric heads happy?) while keeping the main 1000 miler going as well?

I'd agree with this. I followed this thread during the year but never joined as due to a combination of an injury/other stuff I didn't do much for the 1st 2-3 months of the year. Feels silly joining when you're so far behind the 2nd last person!

MCOS

I thought it was as a great thread and some good points up there to develop it.

For 2010 go all x factor on it, keeping the theme but making it bigger and better. For example to consider

• The Ultra runners and Marathon focus people have in sown up too early and thus probably lose interest... how to keep them entertained for the year?
• The IMRA guys deserve some recognition for their 5 miles vs the 5 miles the rest of us run, but hang on a sec.. yes they do run up hills but they also run the equivalent downhill in chocolate covered adrenalin glee too don't they ..ahem..
• Late comers... yep fairly annoying when you are chasing someone on the table and in pops joe bloggs with 1000m in one post.. not discrediting their 100m at all but whats the rule?
• I like the ideas of colours for targets or colour changing at 250, 500 etc.. as long as it doesn't become a feicin tapestry and a mind challenge to figure out how to format a post?
• Set of little door magnet rules such as the etiqeutte around deleting posts
• I like the idea of equating swimming and cycling as the likes of showry and myself would do better and it would attract more lurkers At a 1000mile running challenge it almost seems pointless if you don't have at least a marathon planned in your year...

Its a great thread though. I was the one to give it the stars back in Jan

pete_mcs

Is there a sign up to this challenge or just post your updates on this thread? Sorry new to this forum.

robinph

pete_mcs wrote: »

Is there a sign up to this challenge or just post your updates on this thread? Sorry new to this forum.

There is a 1000mile challenge thread on the first page here somewhere where you'll see what we've been up to, this is just about how we do it for 2010. Woddle will create that thread in a couple of weeks and we'll start all the fun again.

hunnymonster

MCOS wrote: »

• Late comers... yep fairly annoying when you are chasing someone on the table and in pops joe bloggs with 1000m in one post.. not discrediting their 100m at all but whats the rule?

How about in by the end of January (even if only to say ZERO miles due to injury) or you can't join. If you're not in by then, you can still join the monthly totals threads?

donothoponpop

It was a great thread because it was so simple. Yes, it gets a little annoying when you are tailing someone, and then a new poster bangs up their 1000 miles in first post, but, really, what harm? My vote goes towards keeping it simple (the way it was), and not dilute that simplicity with new rules, or swim miles, or extra colours for 250 miles, etc.

MCOS wrote: »

[*]The IMRA guys deserve some recognition for their 5 miles vs the 5 miles the rest of us run, but hang on a sec.. yes they do run up hills but they also run the equivalent downhill in chocolate covered adrenalin glee boggy muck****e and extra gorsebush limbstoo don't they ..ahem..

FYP;)
To be fair on road runners, we mountain men don't have to contend with traffic, or dog poop, or sucking in our guts around cuties...:)

tunney

hunnymonster wrote: »

The other adaptation that might be worth considering is if there is anyway we can incorporate the triathletes. Maybe we need a completely separate thread or maybe we (i.e. ask Tunney nicely) we can equivilate say 10 miles on the bike = 1 running mile, 1 swimming mile = 5 running miles.

I've only ran a couple of thousand km this year and as I'm not a pure runner I didn't feel right entering the 1000 mile challenge as for some weeks I might only run 50km but I've spent 5 hours in the pool and 15 hours on the bike.

Those famiilar with Epic camps may know the points competition that they use, overly complicated for the requirements here but an establish system thats used and has been for years.

With the bonus points stripped out it boils down to

*Swim 2 mile : 1
*Bike 60 miles : 1
*Run 5 miles : 1


A simplified and adapted version of this that maintains the ratio of swim:bike:run in a fair amount, but recognised the run focus of the board fos ease of calculation, could be

*Swim 600m: 1 point
*Bike 12 miles : 1 point
*Run 1 mile: 1 point

Runs over two hours get 2 bonus points
Bikes over 120 miles get 2 bonus points
Swims over 3.5 miles get 2 bonus points.

MCOS

tunney wrote: »

Bikes over 120 miles get 2 bonus points
Swims over 3.5 miles get 2 bonus points.

These bonus points would be reserved specifically for IM athletes then :rolleyes:

Introducing a points system takes away from the heart of the challenge IMO which must fundamentally be a 1000 mile challenge. Perhaps a handicap system could be initiated here to keep it simple. Let Individuals lay down their own guantlet by starting on the figure (max 0) that they wish

So for example HM would start the challenge on -2000miles, Krusty on -600 etc... This would be a way of the pack fighting it out while the heavy mileage guys lay down honest challenges for themselves and come through to the top of the table as usual, only by Decemeber and not March.

hunnymonster

Hey, I'm still bitter that the biddy sahara flooded and the MDS started a day late meaning I was second to Bazman.

BeepBeep67

Highway_To_Hell wrote: »

I presume most people record their running time aswell as miles covered, would be interesting to see a total time running as well as miles covered.

1816 miles
241:09:36 - time (just over 10 full days running)

robinph

It's all starting to get far too confusing now.

How about a thread where everybody updates how far they have run since the 1st January next year, and we see who reaches 1000miles of running first?

uglyjohn

em, who starts it? i think i'll join in this year and since 2010 starts a few hours early here i reckon i can steal first place untill a few hang overs clear :cool:

Clum

I was one of those who jumped in with 1000 miles having no previoues entries. The reason being I wasn't aware it was a race, thought it was more of a log, plus I run 5 or 6 times a week and haven't the time to update the thread after every run.

If there are rules about who can enter there should be rules about how often they update the thread too (be it daily, weekly, monthly or every x amount of miles). I'll happily go along with any rules laid down but no rules were stated last January that I was aware of.

robinph

No rules were stated, and I don't think there should be.

It was merely a courtesy to show other where you are up to in the "race" to the target of 1000miles. If you could only update the list once a week it would be better than nothing, just people like to be able to see who else is near them in the list.

Woddle

This is just a thread for ideas, doesn't mean things are going to change, However I would be in the same camp as MCOS and his attitude of bigger and better but I do think the key is simplicity, and I think from a few suggestions already that things could be incorporated and kept simple.

misty floyd

Woddle wrote: »

in a race you should be able to see your competition (misty )

ha ha You are seriously pushing this competition thing now. I like it. Set up a 1000 chocolate challenge thread. Last to get to 1000 wins. More motivation over xmas.

I really didn't cop it this year and just jumped in. Wasn't thinking but I can totally see why that would be annoying. Looking forward to 2010's one and getting involved properly.

Keep it simple if you ask me. Having to quote, unbold someones text etc etc seems to be the most technical some people get on here (me included). 1000 mile challange, easy.

baza1976

People here are making the whole thing complicated.

It's a thread about running 1000miles. If you are swimming or cycling why don't you create another thread for clocking miles. I'd join up a cycling thread, I cycle most days to work and often drop a short run on the weekend and go for a spin

I think if we start to make this brilliant thread anyway complicated it will take from it. It is a simple thread and brilliant as it is.

The only thing I would like to add to the 2010 thread is running time. Or maybe we could have a seperate thread for running a 1000 hrs or some other lenght of time

--amadeus--

I'd agree - keep the main 1000 mile challenge unchanged, the other stuff I thought were extra threads or challenges. We could mix it up, Jan could be an elevation challenge, Feb could be a time challenge, March could be a handicap mileage challenge, April a points system, etc

gerard65

I'd be in the 'its not broken - don't fix it' camp. Other ideas - other threads, but leave the 1000miles as it is.

Oryx

Next year, Id actually like to get to 1000 miles....

But yeah. The idea was simple, easy to follow, and no-one could cock it up too badly if they updated it wrong (remember how many times the orange colour had to be restored to the completed runners....:))

If youre doing tri training, then invent a thread for that, but leave this one for those who want to just log running. Even though I didnt hit the target, I enjoyed seeing how those close to me in the ranks were doing.

nerraw1111

Keep it simple.

I didn't enter last year as I only started running in Feb/March. I do agree with keeping a deadline for entries, say end of January. It's not a race but it's good to keep track with someone of a similar standard or output. So in that sense, people should be stopped from disrupting that by sticking in a 1,000 miles. It's not in keeping with the spirit of challenge.

Oryx

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Keep it simple.

I didn't enter last year as I only started running in Feb/March. I do agree with keeping a deadline for entries, say end of January. It's not a race but it's good to keep track with someone of a similar standard or output. So in that sense, people should be stopped from disrupting that by sticking in a 1,000 miles. It's not in keeping with the spirit of challenge.

I disagree with deadlines. How would you police it anyway? But I do agree noone should first post on it with 1000 miles as a fait accompli.

stmochtas

Some nice table formatting this year is the only change I would make.

nerraw1111

Oryx wrote: »

I disagree with deadlines. How would you police it anyway? But I do agree noone should first post on it with 1000 miles as a fait accompli.

Maybe anyone wishing to join has to start from Mile zero, regardless of what they've done previously?

chinguetti

Lads, tis grand as it is. It worked fine all this year from what i can see so to quote the Beatles 'Let it Be'.

Change for change sake is something a bad idea.

RacoonQueen

Yep, it's fine as it is, the only thing that should definitely be added is instructions on how to add your miles above the table so that it's included in every post.

I do like the idea of a monthly league, that can be added easily as a second table below the 1000 mile one. Otherwise it was a good thread last year, if someone joins the thread in the middle of March with 450 miles, so what? it just gives you an extra person to beat.

Slogger Jogger

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Here's a spin for the IMRA guys... Garmins track elevation changes. Mt Everest is 29,000 feet high (give or take). I wonder if anyone would do teh equivalent of running up Everest in a year?

You could have intermediates for the highest mountain in Ireland and tehn teh 7 peaks from teh 7 continents on teh way up.

It would be very niche but quite interesting.

Geek here has logged all runs, pace, climbs... So since 1 Jan, I've logged some 71,000m of climb :eek: and not a sherpa in sight. 3,400k in distance. Avg pace 4:49. The ascents are reasonably accurate as I switched away from the Garmin motionbased as soon as I saw the figures were unreliable.

As for the 1,000 mile thread, I agree with donothoponpop and others. No change.. lets keep it simple

Magnet

The format is grand but seriously seriously seriously 2000MILLE CHALLENGE would get my vote as 1000mile was well sewn up by March 29th and I got there in 6 months - I think it was great motivation..

ultraman1

is there appitite 4 3 challanges based on the end of year results.the high milage guys on a 2000mile challenge,the middle on a 1000mile and the people who do a lower milage on the 500 challenge just to keep it a bit competive 4 all

eliwallach

ultraman1 wrote: »

.the high milage guys on a 2000mile challenge,the middle on a 1000mile and the people who do a lower milage on the 500 challenge just to keep it a bit competive 4 all

No, leave it as it is.
The added challenge for those who fihished 'early' in 2009 can be to beat the date they reached 1,000 miles.
I know that will be my goal.

hunnymonster

yes, I may have mentioned the Sahara flooding once or twice and how it threw my date off!!!!

MCOS

eliwallach wrote: »

No, leave it as it is.
The added challenge for those who fihished 'early' in 2009 can be to beat the date they reached 1,000 miles.
I know that will be my goal.

Or handicapped starts. eg Bazman and HM starting on -2000 miles. So it may take them 12 months to hit +1000 and we would still see their total mileage while they get to climb from the bottom to the top over the year! Plus the thrill of the 250 - 500 posse having a celebrity like HM just below their name on the list for 5 mins