2,020km Challenge
Apologies for getting this one out a little bit later than normal! So much is going on at the moment but I'm finally able to gather some free time together to give you a cheeky update about the 2,020 km challenge after another month has been chalked off! There's only 4 left to go now to complete this year long challenge. But what is this all about?
Well, at the beginning of the year, I was talking with some friends about a potential challenge of getting to 2,020km in 2020 by a combination of running and hiking to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society (United Against Dementia). Audacious? Yeah! I've not done anywhere near half this distance even when training for marathons - the full description of the challenge is thus:
- Total distance: 2,020 km / 1,255 miles in 2020
- Hiking: “cross-country” or “cross-terrain” walking
- Running: putting one leg in front of the other quickly
- Daily required distance: 5.52 km / 3.45 miles per day
Each month, I give a run down of how it's all progressing by analysing those stats from one of the sexiest spreadsheets going (other than the Your Top 3 sheets, the 2,020 km challenge spreadsheets are up there as being my favourites haha)! Let's check out these stats then shall we? 🤓
August Progress
After heeding the advice from my brother and others to ease off the running a bit with the shin injuries recurring and intensifying, I decided to go on a hiking mission in August, with the goal being to get further ahead and give me a chance to get over the finish line in Winter
That picture above was taken on one of my hikes I did and the beams of sunlight peering through the clouds made for a pretty awesome view, something I don't get to enjoy so much on the runs as I'm trying not to collapse in a sweaty heap! Anyway, what has this all meant for August's charts?
As you can see, the gap between what my actual daily average distance (blue line) and the required daily average (red line) has been fluctuating slightly and only really started to grow further apart at the end of the month. A nice improvement from July!
Overall
I'm over the moon at how the progress is going and managed to kick on from July. The injury woes seem to have gone for now but there's still a long way to go with this challenge and I need to stay fit and healthy as the days draw in, if I can push on in September with my holiday coming up, I'll be targeting a big gap between blue and red - just 640km to go now!!
Let’s dive deeper in to the sea of stats and charts 😃
| Month | Distance completed (%) | Should Be At (%) |
| January | 138.78 km (6.9%) | 171.09 km (8.5%) |
| February | 298.99 km (14.8%) | 331.14 km (16.4%) |
| March | 473.82 km (23.5%) | 502.23 km (24.9%) |
| April | 644.88 km (31.9%) | 667.80 km (33.1%) |
| May | 841.38 km (41.7%) | 838.89 km (41.5%) |
| June | 1,012.30 km (50.1%) | 1,004.46 km (49.7%) |
| July | 1,180.26 km (58.4%) | 1,175.55 km (58.2%) |
| August | 1,381.22 km (68.4%) | 1,346.64 km (66.7%) |
How good does that graph look?! 😃 Wow! After taking 5 months to recover back to where I needed to be from having an illness and injury in January & February, it's the blue line that's starting to really open up thanks to the efforts in August and staying injury free. I'm still only about 6 "rest days" ahead though so I can't be too complacent but it's nice to be above the red line. Another good month in September will hopefully put me in good stead for the winter!
Let's look at the activity count and breakdown and see what activities contributed to the distance count:
| Month | Runs (%) | Hikes (%) | Active Days | Total Days |
| January | 16 (73%) | 6 (27%) | 22 | 31 |
| February | 14 (70%) | 6 (30%) | 20 | 29 |
| March | 15 (68%) | 7 (32%) | 22 | 31 |
| April | 10 (45%) | 12 (55%) | 22 | 30 |
| May | 10 (39%) | 16 (61%) | 26 | 31 |
| June | 10 (48%) | 11 (52%) | 21 | 30 |
| July | 9 (39%) | 14 (61%) | 23 | 31 |
| August | 3 (12%) | 22 (88%) | 25 | 31 |
| Total | 87 (48%) | 94 (52%) | 181 | 244 |
I did say last month that I'd be picking up the hikes a bit more and the above table definitely shows it! With August being my 2nd most active month in the year so far, this contributed to the widening of the gap in the chart above.
We also see that I've now done more hikes than runs this year with "the flippening" so let's see how much these extra hikes contributed to the distance.
| Month | Distance by Running (%) | Distance by Hiking (%) | Total Distance |
| January | 86.54 km (62%) | 52.24 km (38%) | 138.78 km |
| February | 84.14 km (53%) | 76.06 km (47%) | 160.20 km |
| March | 93.15 km (53%) | 81.68 km (47%) | 174.83 km |
| April | 67.14 km (39%) | 103.92 km (61%) | 171.06 km |
| May | 69.3 km (35%) | 127.2 km (65%) | 196.5 km |
| June | 59.52 km (35%) | 111.41 km (65%) | 170.93 km |
| July | 60.27 km (39%) | 107.68 km (61%) | 167.95 km |
| August | 22.02 km (11%) | 178.94 km (89%) | 200.96 km |
| Total | 542.08 km (39%) | 839.14 km (61%) | 1,381.22 km |
Well well well, I managed to break 200 km in August, that's mad! No wonder my legs are feeling a little fatigued and I have been feeling exhausted during the day! Maybe I've overlooked burnout and lack of rest from this challenge as the reason for my "grogginess" in 3D life. It's certainly been a tough one this year all round but we must plough on! Let's see what September brings!
Charity Fundraising
I’m aiming to raise as much as I can for the Alzheimer’s Society, which is dedicated to researching, supporting and caring for families affected by dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
This is a debilitating condition that slowly erodes the brain, affecting memory, awareness, personality and ability to communicate. Simply put, it’s horrible for both the patient and family and my Nana suffered from it in her final years so the motivation for me is as strong as it has been to do this challenge.
I have set up a Just Giving page here where you can donate and the money goes straight to the charity. I’ll also donate half the post payouts from whatever this report gets as well! Thank you to everyone who’s supported this and let’s get to that target of £2,020 together hey!
If you have Strava, feel free to encourage or banter with me on there – here’s a link to my profile! My activities also are now linked to the Justgiving page to track progress.
Until next month’s report, take it easy and catch you soon!
Nicky
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Look at you go! You are doing amazing! It's been a while since I last popped on to see your progress and I must say it is great to see those numbers climb.
Where on earth do you find the time to make multiple graphs/charts for your progress like that? At the same time I don't think I wouldn't expect it coming from you. Never have I seen a guy be so organized in his things :D
Congrats to you for this success, even though you are not completed just yet, you have grown in your numbers and you keep pushing through. Determination and commitment is strong with you :)
Hehe hey meuf! Thanks a lot for popping by! Yeah quite a month August was, no wonder I'm physically exhausted from it all, been a big month there!
What can I say, I love a spreadsheet and where there's a will, there's a way haha! Call it an obsession with stats if you will, comes with the territory of being "a bit of a nerd" 😃
I haven't completed it yet so no success until I get to 2,020 km, it's still a long way away and I need to keep that grit going for this final few months! Let's do this 💪
Well I still a success even if it's not completed at this point. Once you have it will be a grand success :p
Hehe, always aiming for grand successes!
Well done, Nicky. Fantastic progress.
Our neighbour's suspected Parkinson's diagnosis has been confirmed. A different and difficult chapter ahead.
Thanks Fiona, legs are definitely feeling it now though!
I'm sorry to hear about your neighbours diagnosis and send my well wishes on to them 😔 a challenging time ahead but hope they get the support and advice they need to make the most of what they can
Alzheimers!!!!!!!!!!!! I first heard about this disease when a football legend of germany Gerd Muller was affected by it. He was the football world cup winner for germany in 1974. However this is to rude disease as i think.
Yeah it's a horrible disease and every story I hear about a family being affected by it just adds to the sadness of it but fuels my motivation to continue with the challenge and make it through to the end.