Strava January Challenge
There is no better way to start 2016 other than competing in a challenge. A running crew in Amsterdam, Running Junkies takes an initiative to gather 17 running crews all over the world and pit them together in one-of-a-kind challenge. Kyserun Krew is honoured to be the only running crew based in Malaysia to be invited to compete in the challenge. The rules are simple. Each running crew has to be represented by at least 6 members and at most 16 members. Running crew that accumulates the highest average mileage in January wins. There is no prize given to the winners though. Just eternal internet fame.
The lack of prize is never a problem. The words ‘challenge’ and ‘the only running crew from Malaysia’ are enough to get us off our feet. Realistically, in order to have a good shot at winning, the crew has to cherry-pick the best 6 of us who consistently run high monthly mileage. But Kyserun Krew is not only about winning. When Kyserun Krew was founded, our main objective were to inspire people through running and get more people to run. We have been true to our words since the beginning and nothing will ever change that, even if eternal internet fame is on the line. This is what sets us apart from the others, that see our members grow from 4 members in the beginning to few thousands in a short span of time. We believe in giving as many chances as possible to as many people as we can regardless of one’s body shape, weight, and fitness level. Because we believe everybody starts from somewhere.
So instead of cherry-picking a few of us, 16 which include men and women are chosen to represent the crew for the challenge. The objective given by our leaders is clear. Each of us is required to run at least 200 kilometres during the challenge. The number might look daunting to some of us at first, but we are all in. Everybody agrees that it is achievable and is committed to achieving the number.
The competition is not only against other crews, but among ourselves as well. Team members battle each other to be the outright highest contributor too. Amidst the competitive nature, we ensure that no one is left behind. We constantly review individual and crew’s progress throughout the challenge, and motivate those who are lagging behind. At the end of the challenge, 16 of us collectively run 4,230 kilometres with an average of 265 kilometres per person in 31 days of January. All, except two of us, managed to run at least 200 kilometres.
Despite our valiant effort, we finished 7th, well behind the winning crew, Belgrade Urban Running Team (BURT) who ran an average of 498 kilometres per person. However, we are happy with the commitment and efforts shown by our team members. We have team members, who run only 100 kilometres a month at most prior to January, managed to run at least 200 kilometresa month after the challenge. Many kilometres covered, many kilograms shed.
Prior to knowing about the challenge, I set myself a goal to run 400 kilometres in January as a part of my preparation to run my first World Marathon Majors, Tokyo Marathon in February 2016. It is a pretty ambitious target as I have never run that far in a month then. Strava January Challenge serves as an additional motivation and beyond my wildest dream, I surpassed my initial target by more than 100 kilometres.
