May 27, 2021

Cookies' Summer Challenge 2021


It's only May 27th, but summer kind of begins for us tomorrow--it's Eli's last day of school! He normally would have to go for two more weeks, but the school said that any of the kids who are passing with good grades (he has all A's and B's) have the option to be out on May 28th. The kids that continue to go will be going simply to try to improve their grades enough to pass.

Anyway, summer "officially" starts on June 20th this year... and you know what that means. Cookies' Summer Challenge!

I've done this Summer Running/Walking Checklist since 2016. I tweaked it here and there over the past couple of years, but this year, I'm going to go back to the basic checklist. I want to keep it simple!

This challenge is for those of you who want to run or walk through the summer, but you aren't going to be training for anything big, and you're not sure you want to do a strict schedule. You may just want to loosely follow a plan in order to get you moving through the summer.

Most importantly, exercise should be FUN! Summer is all about fun, but I used to completely dread summer runs. Michigan gets very hot and sticky (the humidity is terrible here, despite what you may think about Michigan weather). And what is more fun than challenging yourself and sharing about it with others? ;)

The object of the challenge is to complete as many of the runs/walks on the checklist as you can. These are all items that just about anyone can do--whether you run or walk. You can go as fast or as slow as you'd like, because these workouts aren't based on speed or distance. They are just lists of things to make your walk or run a little more interesting!

To make things even more fun, I created a Facebook group just for people who want to give the challenge a try. In the group, you can post photos from your runs/walks, write about each experience, tell us about whether it was a good or bad run/walk, etc. Brag, complain, ask questions, whatever you'd like! But it's basically an accountability group for those of us who want to attempt to complete the challenge list this summer.

The challenge starts on June 20th and ends on September 22nd--from the start of summer (the solstice) to the end of summer (the fall equinox). I really hope that you'll join in and follow along with others who are doing it as well!

Here is a link to the (closed) Facebook group (note: You must answer the two questions when requesting to join--it helps to weed out spam accounts):


I chose a closed group so that only other members can see what you share. You will have to request to join, so please be patient with me. I will approve you as long as you don't look like a spam account (also, please plan to participate in the group--even if it just means "liking" other peoples' posts--to keep it active).

As much as I try, I will not always be around in this group--which is why I need your help to keep it interesting. Share things with each other! Make friends! Once in a while I might do a giveaway or some sort of prize for people who are actively working on the challenge as well as posting in the group (last year, I gave away a Kindle Paperwhite). This is not meant to be super competitive, however--just fun.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the challenge checklists (you can click on the photo to view/print the PDF). They are essentially the same list, but the wording is different between runners and walkers:

          

Once you join the Facebook group (if you want to; obviously, you don't have to), then print out either your walking challenge or your running challenge sheet. Then, starting on June 20th, start working on each run/walk on the list in any order you choose.

There are a few that have to be done on certain days... there is one that has to be done ON June 20th, because it's the summer solstice--the first day of summer. Summer officially starts at 11:52 PM ET, so if you run between 11:51 PM and 11:53 PM, you will have run from spring to summer! . (This is explained on the challenge sheet.)

Like I said, do them in any order you'd like. And then if you're in the Facebook group, it would be great if you posted pictures of your completed runs! The only rule is that you cannot count multiple items for a single run--each item must be completed in its own run/walk. For everything else, if you're not sure what "counts", just use your best judgment. Nobody is going to police the challenge ;)

Okay, and there you have it! I hope you are as excited as I am to knock some things off this list this summer :)  (Every year, I say I am going to complete the entire list, and I've yet to even finish 75% of it! So maybe this will be my year.)

5 comments:

  1. I've done your challenge every year since you started but I have yet to complete it as well! I always tell myself that I will every year but maybe I should set a more accomplishable goal for myself this year. Like at least check off half or 3/4 of the list. And then if I do the whole thing I'll be pleasantly surprised! Thank you as always for setting up such a fun challenge!

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  2. I'm in! I needed something fun. Just joined the FB group too. Thanks!

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  3. Yay! Thanks for doing this again : )

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  4. Thanks for doing this again! The goal is to do more than last year and participate more with the group to keep the motivation going.

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  5. Yay! Just joined the group and downloaded the file so I can start marking it off on the 20th! Something to keep me motivated!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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