Join the June Super Summer Runner Challenge

Nathan Freeburg May 31, 2014 Challenge, June Challenge

There’s something special about the first day of June – it feels like summer has finally arrived. Regardless of how brutal winter and spring were, by the time June 1 rolls around, those dreadful days are a distant memory.

This June, we’re going to be introducing another challenge to help motivate you to be a more well rounded, stronger runner. It will combine elements of past challenges, as well as some good running advice.

Lets review.

Past Challenges

The January challenge was simply about getting in enough miles to build a solid base for whatever your future running goals were (March was the same, but more miles).

February was all about strengthening your core – those 15 sexy muscles that make up your abs, hips, lower back and pelvis – critical to helping you becoming a stronger, faster, less injury prone runner.

In April, we partnered with Twin Cities in Motion to bring you the April mile speed challenge. This was about boosting your speed and improving your running economy to make you faster at whatever distance you were shooting for.

In May we partnered with the Minnesota Stroke Association for the 97,000 mile challenge to bring awareness to stroke prevention. We’re asking you to submit your miles for the rest of 2014.

We also introduced to you the Plus3 Network – a free way to donate your fitness accomplishments to raise money for Team USA Minnesota. Yesterday, we asked you to support Minneapolis in the “City Challenge” sponsored in part by Marathon Sports.

So, what’s next?

June Super Summer Runner Challenge Details

After each challenge, many of you have sent in emails like these;

It’s great motivation and I’ve learned so much!

…it has helped me be much more disciplined on my ab workouts…

Thanks for the inspiration. I’m a distance runner and have thought many times about seeing how fast I could run a mile but have never bothered until now!

Thank you so much! It was a great learning experience and good challenge…

It seems like having some sort of self imposed challenge has been a motivating factor for many of you, myself included. So, the June Super Summer Runner Challenge combines elements of all of former challenges, to help you become the strongest runner you can be.

Challenge Components

In addition to tracking your miles, we’re asking you to submit your core/strength work, speed work, rest days and time spent sleeping. Each of those will be added together to give you your “Super Summer Runner Number.”

I’ve created a weighted point system for each of the elements, to add importance to things that aren’t just miles. Here’s how it works.

1 mile = 1 point
1 core/strength workout = 3 points
1 speed workout = 3 points
1 recovery day = 2 points (could be a day off, cross-training, walk, etc. You can’t get miles and recovery points on the same day.)
7.5+ hours of sleep a night = 5 points

Enter Challenge Now!

Proper nutrition and hydration are also important, but for simplicity we’ve left them out. Make sure you’re eating well and hydrating appropriately!

Sample

Here’s an example of how this might work.

Yesterday, I ran 6 miles (6 points) that included a 2×1 mile @ 5k pace workout (3 points). I also magically got 8 hrs of sleep (5 points). I didn’t do any core/strength work, so my total “runner number” for the day was 14.

Why is sleep rated so high? Because runners need more sleep. It helps with everything in life. Some experts say that you’re better off skipping your run if the tradeoff is less than 7 hours of sleep.

Prizes

We all love prizes, and promise to have some for you. We’re still in the process of working out these details, so stay tuned! Anybody who has 100 pts or more will be eligible to win.