Distance Goals vs. Steps Goals
Steps challenges provide a very clear daily movement target for people, and they work well to get people moving, and competing with each other. 👍 Sometimes, however, it's fun to create longer terms movement goals based on good old fashioned distances in miles or kilometers.
For example, you might want to challenge your people to cover the distance of a "marathon" over the course of a few days or a week; or you could ask your people to walk the Appalachian Trail, summit Kilimanjaro, or simply stroll from New York to Paris.
Good news: the Count.It app tracks “Walking + Running" distance as a core fitness metric, and this activity can be used to create any distance challenge you like!
In a Distance Challenge, participants work toward reaching a set distance goal based on their “Walking + Running" distance. Challenge admins can select custom distances or choose from a number of iconic destination options. It’s up to the challenge creator to select the distance or destination, and to specify the time period for completion.
PRO Tip: On Count.It, we track our users daily distance using the "Walking + Running" activity. If Manual Entry has been turned on for the challenge, users can log their distance directly via the Count.It app. This value can also be automatically sync'd from any connected Fitness app that also tracks this value.
Note: Apple Health also uses the same name, "Walking + Running" distance, for this activity, though other trackers, such as Fitbit, Garmin, and Google Fit, simply call it "Distance." In all cases, the value is calculated primarily from steps data, though it may also incorporate GPS data if that is available.
Creating a Distance Goal
To create a distance challenge, follow these steps:
Open Count.It to your group home screen.
Tap on the "+" icon at the bottom right of the screen to create a new challenge.
Scroll (slightly) down to the "Distance" goals.
Select one of the default goals, or tap the "Custom" option.
On the next screen, if you've selected "Custom," enter the total distance you want individuals to cover during your challenge. Otherwise, simply select "Choose."
Continue forward in the challenge creation process, notably setting the dates and duration of the challenge.
Important: Keep in mind that the target you are setting is the target that must be achieved by your individual challenge participants — and the same goes for teams, since the team score is equal to the average of its members scores.
So, pay attention to the duration you set, and make sure it's what you want, and reasonable.
PRO Tip: Custom Distance Goal Example
If you assume that the average adult (not in a challenge) covers about 2.5 miles (or 4.02km) per day, then you can calculate how many days it would take the average person to cover the distance of your challenge:
[YOUR DISTANCE] / 2.5 mi (or 4.02 km) = DURATION IN DAYS.
Example:
1,000 mile challenge / 2.5 miles per day = 400 days.
Points Conversion for Distance Challenges
In Distance Challenges, participants earn points based on the distance they log, motivating them to reach the challenge goal. Here’s how the point system works for any challenge you create:
1 meter = 1 point
1 kilometer = 1000 points
1 mile = approximately 1609 points
Points are automatically awarded based on distance, so your participants’ totals will increase each time they log their daily steps or GPS-tracked movement. On the virtual challenge path, participants will see progress markers indicating both actual distances and progress in points.