What is a Virtual Challenge and How Does It Work?

A virtual challenge is a fitness goal that you can run, cycle, walk, swim, step or wheel a certain distance over a specified period of time.

Anyone of any ability can participate and it can be completed at any location, at your own pace, and in however many stints you as you like. It's a great way of keeping fit and staying motivated to reach your individual fitness goals.

What is the Difference Between a Virtual Challenge and a Virtual Race?

In virtual races, you compete against the clock and against other participants. You typically run, walk, cycle or swim the set distance and upload your results online to compare your performance against others around the world.

Generally, virtual races are completed in one stint so are limited to a few hours and shorter distances, such as a 5k or 10k distance. These can also be demanding on the participants and are not always suitable for all abilities.

Our virtual challenges give you the chance to set your own timescale to cover your chosen distance! You have the benefit of being able to achieve longer distances by reaching your goal in multiple stints over that time and place that suits you best.

Step 1 - Enter a Challenge

Whether you prefer to walk, run, cycle, swim, maintain your daily step count or complete your challenge in your wheelchair, we have a challenge for you!

Step 2 - Participate at your own pace

Once you have chosen your challenge, you may now set the time-frame based on your goals or schedule.

You are free to choose your start date and the deadline which you aim to complete your challenge in (you can update this at any point, so you don't have to stick to it). It can range from one week up to 18 months, depending on your preference.

You can add your distance activities manually, or connect your challenge to one of our supported fitness tracker apps: Strava, Garmin, Fitbit, Polar, Suunto or Wahoo Fitness.

Step 3 - Earn Rewards

One of the best ways of keeping to your fitness goals is to earn 'rewards' along the way.

As you progress along your challenge route, you will receive digital postcards of points of interest - a personalised postcard that you can choose to print or share on social media with your friends and family.

We also plant a minimum of 4 real trees along your challenge (normally every 25% of the challenge you complete) so you can help the environment as well as your own fitness!