Strava Challenges and Finishing 2013 on a Strong Note

For the past year or so I have kept track of my activity on Strava.  It's fun to see how I measure up against others and previous runs that I have done.  When I've had a great run, I'm curious to see if I've earned a PR or top 10 spot on segments along the way.

Strava also has "Challenges" that users can sign up for.  They have monthly distance challenges, along with a variety of others.  I signed up for October's "Turn Up the Heat" Challenge - this was to see how many miles runners could reach in the month of October.  17,322 participants ran a total of 944,916 miles!  I ran just over 120 miles and ranked 1,782 - just out of the top 10%.   There were 3,102 female participants and I ranked 182nd - top 6%!  It's all in fun and the only awards are these little badges on your Strava page:

I'm not sure why Strava uses kilometers, although they do add up more quickly!  I've signed up for November's "Find Your Way" with the goal of capturing all five awards for a total of 200 kilometers, about 125 miles.  That means about 31 miles a week. I plan to do the same for December to finish what has been a challenging year on a strong note!

Looking for a motivating way to finish 2013?  DVF (Daily Vitamin Fitness) is having a Holiday Virtual 5K Race Series - on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. I'm planning on participating in those as well.  You have to run them on the actual holiday, and do all three to qualify for prize drawings, but I think I can make it work this year. 

How are you going to finish 2013?