Running on treadmills can be boring.
With the pandemic and some nagging injuries, I needed a way to get some running done on my treadmill no matter what. A friend suggested a virtual challenge.
“That’s silly,” I thought. I don’t need to spend money just to run on the treadmill. It’s sitting right there. I barely used it.
So I finally gave in and tried a challenge
And it was awesome.
And I got an epic medal from it.
What is a Conqueror Virtual Challenge?
Conqueror Virtual Challenges have made an awesome app to do virtual running races. You buy the race, and then add your kilometers to the app as you make progress. Kilometers can be walking, running, riding, rowing or anything else that’s human-powered.
The races are all over the world through epic places like Angkor Wat, Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro, or the Pacific Crest Trail.
The races range from 32 kilometers up to over 4000 km. Clearly you don’t have to do them in one sitting. They are great motivators when you want to do a few weeks or months of running.
To track your mileage, you can hook up to a fitness app, watch, or just put your distance in manually. With running on the treadmill, I just added my kilometers after every run. The app shows the progress you are making along the route like Mount Everest or the Pacific Crest trail.
It’s easy to bank kilometers from your steps every day, your weekly bike rides or running on the treadmill. Regardless of how you get your kilometers in, it’s addicting watching the markers move on the map. At regular intervals get a postcard telling the story of interesting places along the way.
Most of the routes are from real places you can actually go run or hike but some aren’t. Five of the races are in Middle Earth through the Lord of the Rings locations, totalling 1061 km. You get a ring with the first race in the Shire and that ring fits into each medal.
Aside from the Lord of the Rings races, each are just displayed on Google Earth and you can look around at street view and 360 images at the scenery along your route.
But those medals….
Medals
Conqueror isn’t joking around when they make medals. They are huge metal works of art with moving parts, multiple layers, and sometimes hidden compartments.
The straps are just as nice with thick, soft fabric extending the art all the way around.
They’re easy to hang with a couple of nails, clip, or a fancy running medal holder on the wall.
Not only is it nice to get a prize for the end of the race but it feels good to look back at all the progress you’ve made in your running journey.
Causes
As you progress through your challenge Conqueror donates to a cause every 20% of your distance.
You can choose to either plant a tree or stop 10 plastic bottles from going into the ocean. These are just as much motivation for me as the big medal at the end.
They work with Eden Projects for tree planting and Plastic Bank for cleaning up ocean plastic.
Private Facebook Group
Once you have your first Conqueror Challenge started, you can be invited to the private Facebook group. It’s full of people doing their first challenges or working their 40th. It’s very well managed and the most supportive and positive Facebook I’ve ever been in. Many groups devolve into name-calling and harassment but the Conqueror group is on of the few that feels good to scroll through and be a part of.
Should you get a Conqueror Virtual Challenge?
Yes. I had so much fun doing the 2 Conqueror races I’ve done so far and will be doing more. I find myself wanting a race to work towards every time I finish. I’m working on the 3 mountain races of Everest, Fuji and Kilimanjaro. Everest and Fuji are done. Kilimanjaro is next.
