September Challenge Is On

I have organized a Monthly Mileage Challenge at work. So far I have enrolled 13 people and I'm hoping to enroll a few more today and tomorrow (this is a tough week to get this going because so many people are on vacation). Here's how it works: All cardio activities will be converted to mileage. Running, walking, elliptical are all straight miles. Biking is 4:1 (bike 4 miles to get "credit" for 1 mile), swimming is 1:4 (swim 1 mile and get credited 4 miles). Stairmaster is 1:2, cardio classes are 4 miles per hour, etc. These conversions may not be perfect, but the idea is to "level the playing field" so anyone can get involved and log some miles with almost any activity. This concept seems to be working because the participants include a few folks who need a little motivation to get started as well as marathoners. Everybody keeps their own log and reports their mileage to me weekly. I will send a weekly update (using aliases) so everyone can see how they are doing (if they are in it to win it). The entry fee is $10. The winner takes 50 percent, 30 percent buys a healthy lunch for participants, and 20 percent is donated to a charity. So if I can get 15 participants, the winner gets $75. Not a bad chunk of change! I'm psyched. I am definitely in it to win it! Especially since I am looking at new road bikes, every little bit helps.