Kicking off 2021 with 58,812 miles in January!

What compels you to get out of a warm bed or bypass your favorite Netflix binge to put on layers of workout clothes and be active every single day in January for three weeks straight? We learned some really interesting tidbits about participants in the Jack Frost Challenge last month that keep us inspired!

For TJ McKenna, a Boston University professor who logged the highest activity in the Challenge (481 miles!), a goal to do at least 10 miles for every hour spent in a Zoom meeting was just the beginning.  He and his wife both participated in the Jack Frost Challenge and they run in honor of Lindsay, his sister-in-law, as part of Team Be Happy and the Lindsay's Legacy Foundation.  Last year, they donated and shipped more than 600 face shields to those most in need and raised $10,000 for the Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Health.  The Challenge gave him a reason to tackle multiple long sets everyday and keep up training for triathlons.

Celeste Fong, who followed closely with an impressive 477 miles, wanted to start the year by pushing herself far outside her comfort zone.  She appreciated a January challenge like this to motivate people to turn a goal into a habit.

"I’ve seen the sunrise almost every single day. I’ve spent tons of miles walking and hiking with my mom. I’ve also explored a bunch of new trails. It’s been a fabulous month in so many ways."

While TJ and Celeste racked up impressive mileage, the volume of people committed to their goal was remarkably inspiring:

• Of 1,012 in the challenge, an average of 820 participants submitted each of the 21 days
• 17,230 total activities were submitted
• 58,812 miles of activity were logged by the community
• 3.41 miles per submission was the average
  

Jose Lugo committed to a 10K a day and early on had to strategize his time to run or walk 6.2 miles with warm-ups and cool downs around his full-time work schedule. He also paid more attention to the daily weather forecast than ever before!  A frequent HMF race participant, Jose misses the competition and appreciated being able to follow the leaderboard to get in the spirit of it more, compelling him to log more January miles than he ever has.

"The pandemic made me realize that I'm not meant to be indoors for a long period of time. The Challenge gave me goals and the fact that I surpassed my goals this early in the year gives me a great sense of satisfaction."

For John Bornhorst, a friendly face at HMF finish lines in a normal year, the Challenge forced him to get out and complete a 5K a day.  The option for indoor or outdoor activities was an initial draw, but the added challenge of managing the winter weather kept him outside to log his  miles.  He also encouraged a colleague and newer runner to use running and aerobics to successfully keep moving in January.

Congratulations to all Jack Frost Challenge participants and to the 21 winners of Daily Prizes from Fleet Feet West Hartford!  All winners were contacted by email directly about claiming their prizes.