2,020km Challenge
At the beginning of the year, I decided to try and reach 2,020km in 2020 by a combination of running and hiking to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society (United Against Dementia). I usually try to share my progress at the end of the month but have been struggling to find the time these last few days to get it done but thankfully, I'm managed to put together these stats for us all to salivate over 🤓
Now I'm entering the 2nd half of the year and the challenge, I'm hoping to build up a bit of distance and give myself some wiggle room in case injury or illness strikes. Also in preparation for the winter months where the hiking and running conditions may not be quite as favourable! In any case, the full definition of this challenge is:
- 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
July Progress
Still suffering a little bit with a shin niggle and realising that running on the tarmac is probably the cause, I have tried to mix it up with some cross-country runs on the softer ground but around where I live, it's quite hilly and have found that I'm prone to other injuries such as in the Achilles and calf muscle!
Fingest in the Chiltern Hills
Hiking seems to be the order of the month as I gradually move in to this mode of transporting myself around the challenge. Maybe my running days are over which would be a shame but I have done 5 marathons and 7 half marathons which is more than enough! In any case, keeping above the red line was a priority this month and had to rest a few times to keep the balance after dancing with the red line from June!
July Progress
As you can see in the graph, I managed to have my first month this year where I was consistently above the daily required red line which I'm really happy with but will like to expand the gap now between the two lines with some big hikes in August and September!
Overall
I'm pretty pleased to have pulled through the big struggles from the beginning of the year and happy I'm showing that red line who's boss (at least for now)! Of course, the two I's - injury and illness - are never far away given the current climate but I have a renewed hope that I'll get through this! Just another 850km or so to go!
Let's have a look at some stats!
| 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%) |
Looking at the graph and table, I never really managed to open up a substantial gap and actually ended the month of July only 5km above where I needed to be which is not even one full rest day's worth! Slim margins we're talking about here but never went under the red line again so that's encouraging!
Time for the activity count 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 |
| Total | 75 (56%) | 58 (44%) | 112 | 182 |
After the damage that the running was doing to me, I naturally started doing less runs and picked up a bit more on the hikes and this will be a theme for the rest of the year I think, there may be fewer runs as I space them out a bit more!
The table below shows the distances covered with the runs and hikes separately for all months
| 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 |
| Total | 520.06 km (44%) | 660.19 km (56%) | 1,180.26 km |
Strangely enough, I ran a bit further in July than June despite doing one less run and my hiking distance came down a bit too. In fact, July seemed to be a my 3rd worst month this year so far and it showed really! Time to step it up a little bit in August... literally!
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!
Until next month’s report, take it easy and catch you soon!
Nicky
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