This March is a month of milestones. For many of us, it marks the one-year anniversary of the last time we enjoyed a cocktail indoors with friends, boarded an airplane to go on vacation with family, or left the country to explore the world beyond our borders. And this particularly snowy winter has left many of us feeling more isolated than ever with a severe case of cabin fever.
With spring on the horizon, the North Face is partnering with Strava, the fitness tracking app, to encourage us to get outdoors and enjoy the mental health benefits of nature. Launching March 1 on Strava, the North Face Vectiv Power Further, Together Challenge is a month-long virtual competition inviting runners and hikers to collectively explore all 148.3 million miles of trails that cover the globe. On an individual level, you’re only responsible for logging 100 km during the month—roughly 62 miles total, or about 2 miles per day.
You could win a new pair of trail runners from the North Face’s Vectiv line.
Courtesy of the North Face
To join, download the free Strava app and click into the platform’s challenge gallery and look for “Power Further, Together Challenge.” Once you click join, any walk, run, hike, or wheelchair activity logged in the app will count toward your 100-km monthly goal.
For every 20 km you log, you’ll unlock rewards, including chances to win trail footwear from the North Face’s brand-new Vectiv line, which launched on January 26. Other prizes include classics like Base Camp duffel bags and Flight Futurelight jackets, which would normally set you back $120 to $280.
Just because Chile’s Route of Parks and Spain’s El Camino del Anillo hiking trails are off limits to most of us still, that doesn’t mean you can’t get in on the action. You don’t technically have to be on a hiking trail for your activity to count toward the challenge—any old city street will do, and even treadmill activity counts, since some people are still in areas under lockdown.
However, if you need some encouragement to explore beyond your typical walking route, the North Face has added hidden trail segments within the app in Boston, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle. That means if you track a hike on a trail in one of these cities, you could win even more gear from the North Face. For more information on the challenge, visit thenorthface-stravachallengeentry.com.
Time to get outdoors and start hiking.
>> Next: A Safe, Practical Guide to Getting Outside While Social Distancing
