Run Challenges - Allow Walk to count as well

[ccrossan]

I think it would be great for the 'Run' challenges to also allow for 'Walk' to count towards getting the challenge badge for people who are less able-bodied. At the moment only Run, Virtual Run and Wheelchair are available. While this is fantastic for wheelchair users, it excludes people who aren't able to run but do not have mobility issues requiring a wheelchair. For example, I have a heart condition which means that it is actually quite an achievement for me to walk 10km in one activity and it would be nice to get a badge without having to pretend to run the distance required.

[Sunny415]

Thanks for posting, @ccrossan!

We do hear this type of request on occasion, and not exclusive to the walking/running dynamic. I do want to call out that there is a monthly cumulative walking distance challenge regularly available in the gallery. There are also multisport challenges that include all activities of sport types, including walks, regularly available too.  

Could you share more about what you are interested in seeing? Are you specifically looking for best (single) activity challenges that include walks, focused on distance, time, or elevation, for example? Is there a certain type of walking goal that would motivate you or other walking athletes through a challenge that isn't currently being considered, such as a streak goal?

Conversely, if walks were eligible for running challenges, would you and other walkers want to be included on a leaderboard? Should those different activities be included on leaderboards together, or separated apart? How can we help walkers derive more enjoyment and motivation from the challenges we offer?

I love this line of thinking, especially as more diverse athletes, and sports, come to Strava. How can we provide more value through Strava Challenges for these diverse needs? I'm looking forward to hearing more!

[ccrossan]

Thanks for getting back to me @Sunny415.

Yes, I would mainly be focused on distance, but that's just my personal preference. Time and elevation would also be useful for other athletes I'm sure.

I had never thought of a streak goal but now that you mentioned it, it could be really appealing - same way that there is currently the goal "March Indoor Workout Challenge"  where you complete 3 days of activity for 4 weeks. Or alternatively walk for 30 mins daily or something along those lines.

I'm not too interested in leaderboards personally, as I realise with my condition I'm never going to be near the top, so unless other athletes want it, I personally don't think it would be necessary to include walking in the leaderboards.

It would be great to hear from you regarding any updates.

Kind regards,

Claire

[Sunny415]

Thanks for the reply as well, Claire! I personally like the idea of a walking streak challenge, as for me, I want to make sure that I'm getting outside regularly more than track the distance that I've walked.

I have shared this post with the team who creates challenges, and I hope we get more attention here to see what other athletes would like to see from walking challenges on Strava. I can't promise what's to come, and for now, I recommend joining the March Walking Distance Challenge. We offer this challenge monthly, too. 

[Soren]

Thanks for submitting your idea. It has been reviewed by our moderation team and is now open to voting.

[Rixter]

Why is there only one walking challenge? The obvious thing to do is to duplicate the run challenges in for Walk activities. Or I like your earlier suggestion of combining walking and running. Back when I first joined Strava, all activity on 2 feet counted the same. Now somehow there's a value judgement based on how fast you're going. For the monthly cycling challenges the don't say you have to go over a certain speed or watts to be considered cycling

[Silentvoyager]

In my opinion, walking and hiking are no different from running. It may make sense to distinguish them the same way trail running is distinguished from running, but other than that all segments and challenges should be shared between running, walking, and hiking. All leaderboards should be shared too.

Furthermore, walking can actually be faster than running. I can certainly walk faster than some people run. The world record for speed walking 5 km is 18:05.

[pinklady6]

I am training to walk a half marathon and then hopefully going to go on to walk a marathong but the 5k 10k and half marathon challenges are only for runners.

There appear to be many other walkers walking long distances. Please open up race distances challenges for walkers too.