Updates
This page contains the weekly updates (starting 1/10) from event director, Andy Bacon. The instructions sent to all participants at the beginning of the challenge are also below.
- 1/17 week 2 photo winners
- 1/17 Friday results update
- 1/10 week 1 photo winners
- 1/10 Friday results update
Instructions Sent to All Participants
Happy New Year and welcome to the 5th annual Backyard BRRR Virtual Challenge! We are SO excited and hope you are as well!
This email covers all the basic information that you need to know about the challenge. This information is also on the challenge website, in particular the FAQs page, and it is a good place to reference if you have any questions.
You are always welcome to send me an email or call me if you have any questions.
What is the Backyard BRRR Virtual Challenge?
Your challenge this month is to complete at least 31 total miles in 31 outside activities. That's one mile per day outside. You don't have to stop at 31 miles and we want you to be inspired to log as many miles as possible from January 1st to 31st!
What types of activities count in the challenge?
Running, walking, cycling, swimming, paddling/rowing, and skiing/snowboarding all count towards your milage goal for the month. We limit submissions to these disciplines to keep things fair and consistent across participants.
Do both inside and outside miles count?
Both inside (e.g., treadmill) and outside miles count towards your overall milage total. However, remember that the purpose of the challenge is to get you outside! Besides racking up the miles, your goal is to get outside every day in January.
How do I indicate that an activity was outside?
To record whether or not an activity was outside, then simply write "outside" in the comments section of your activity submission. You do NOT need to write the word "inside" for inside activities.
A special prize will be given for the following individuals and team accomplishments:
- Individuals with the most overall total miles
- Individuals with the most overall total miles outside
- Individuals with the most miles in each of the following disciplines (walking, running, cycling, skiing/snowboarding, swimming, paddling)
- Individuals with the most pushups
- Individuals with the most miles outside in each of the following disciplines (walking, running, cycling, paddling)
- Team with the most overall total miles
- Team with the most overall total miles outside
- Teams with the most miles in each of the following disciplines (walking, running, cycling, skiing/snowboarding, swimming, paddling)
- Team with the most pushups
- Corporate team with the most overall miles
- Corporate team with the most overall miles outside
You will be able to see some of these results via RunSignUp as activities are submitted, but others I calculate manually. Each Friday during the challenge (starting January 10th) I will send out an update with the results to date. You might be wondering where the pushups came from since they don't add to your miles...we added this element three years ago and it was super fun so we decided to keep it going. Keep on reading to see how to submit your miles and pushups.
Charity Partner - Homestretch
I first came to know Homestretch back in 2010 when I volunteered a few times at Homestretch events. It’s an absolutely wonderful organization based in Falls Church, VA that breaks the cycle of homelessness and uplifts the lives of their program’s graduates and their families. One thing that makes Homestretch so unique is that it exclusively serves homeless families with children. In fact, the average age of someone in Homestretch is only 8 years old.
EX2 is thrilled to support Homestretch and we are grateful for any donations that you made during registration. So far when you combine the over 400 individual donations from participants with our corporate partner donations and the 10% EX2 match, together we have raised over $29,000 for Homestretch! Since we started the BRRR in January 2021, the event has raised over $147,000 for Homestretch. I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that made a donation.
Team Stretch Your $ is matching $5,000 in donations that they receive during the Backyard BRRR. Check out their fundraising page and consider making a donation to their team to support Homestretch! So far, their team has collected over $2,500 in donations...let's help them reach their $5,000 goal!
Would you like to set up a fundraising page just like Team Stretch Your $? Just get in touch and I'll help you get it going!
Please also consider asking your employer to be involved in the Backyard BRRR. Check out the information on our corporate partner program. Corporate partners are a key to reaching our $50,000 fundraising goal!
Share Your Photos
During the challenge we encourage you to share photos from your activities. Since we aren't together in-person, sharing photos is a great way to feel and stay connected to one another. I'll be sharing a picture every day and encourage you to do the same.
Please use #BackyardBRRR and tag @ex2adventures when you post to social media. There are also two awesome places to share your photos that make it easy for other participants to see them. First is our EX2 Facebook group. Second is the RunSignUp photos page - note that you must be signed into RunSignUp to upload photos. Both places are SUPER easy to share pictures.
If you haven't followed us on social media yet, please consider following EX2 on Instagram and Facebook.
Weekly Photo Prize
Each week we are going to have a photo contest with special prizes. The theme for week 1 (week 1 is a bit extended and goes through Friday 1/10...the next one will go through Friday 1/17, etc.) is:
"BRRRing on the BRRR!"
This theme is purposefully open-ended to get things kicked off with some fun outdoor photos to help get us all in the spirit of the BRRR!
The prizes this week include running gloves, the new EX2 trucker hat, and our popular Run More Trails t-shirt.
The photo must be uploaded to RunSignUp photos and shared on social media (if you are on social). Please tag @ex2adventures and use #BackyardBRRR as this makes finding the photos easier. At the end of the week, I'll pick two winners and you'll both be sent a special prize. The Facebook group is a great place to post your photos.
Teams
Many of you have created or joined a team (see the team list). Teams make it easier to keep track of your friends, family, and colleagues that are participating in the challenge. When you click on a team name, it will show you the team members, their individual milage to date, and the aggregate milage of the team. Pretty cool, huh?! See our FAQs for more info on teams. If you want to join a team, posting in our Facebook group is a place to ask!
To create, join, or modify a team, please follow these instructions: Log in to RunSignUp --> Select Profile (top right) --> Select the Manage Registration link in the Backyard BRRR Virtual Challenge section under upcoming races --> Select Team in the top navigation. Then use the options on the page to create, join, or manage your team. You can do all sorts of cool things like create a new team, add members (if you are the captain) to your existing team, invite others to register, etc. If you have any questions about teams, please rely to this email and I'll be happy to help out.
Very important note on teams...adding brand new people to your team if they just registered is totally OK. Adding people to your team that previously were NOT on a team is totally OK. However, individuals changing teams after they've already entered in activity data is slightly ungood and causes one part of the team results to get a bit wonky. This should be avoided if possible. Please get in touch with me if your team finds itself in this situation.
Corporate Partners and Teams
I want to welcome our corporate partners and teams to the challenge! Huge shoutout to our friends at Sheehy Auto Stores, Mobomo, Excella, Acclaim Technical Services (ATS), Veros Technologies, Black Cape, and Fairfax Neonatal Associates, P.C. Together, they have donated over $10,000 to Homestretch.
Logging Your Miles
Logging your miles is not a complicated process. The hardest part will be to remember to do it! To help you remember, each Thursday during the challenge I will send reminder emails with instructions. In these reminder emails, I’ll also give you some cold weather workout tips and perhaps some other ramblings. You can log your miles starting today.
To submit your miles, do the following:
- Go to the Results page.
- Click Submit Virtual Results and then search for your registration (searching by first and last name works well).
- Click the Log Activities link next to your name. If you aren't logged in, you can quickly verify yourself by email or the last 4 digits of your phone number.
- Select your activity, the date, and the distance of your activity. You may also enter the time and elevation gain and a comment. Entering the time will enable the system to calculate your average pace during the challenge. Entering elevation will enable the system to aggregate you total elevation. Pretty cool huh!!
- Reminder...type "outside" in the comment field if your activity was outside.
- To record your pushups, select the pushup activity type and enter just the number completed in the comments box. For example, just type "25" in the comments box.
- To add multiple activities, just click "Add Another Activity."
- Don't forget to hit Submit Activity when you are done.
Notes: After you enter an activity, results take 2-3 minutes to update. Also, activity entries can be modified if you make a mistake. A list of all your previously entered activities is at the bottom of the activity entry page. Just click "manage activities" and modify whatever you need to correct.
Personal Distance Goal
I set everyone's distance goal to be 31 miles, but you can change this to be whatever you want. Just above your previous activities on the activity entry page you'll see "Goals" and an option to "Edit Personal Goals." This goal can be changed at any time.
What if I don't have a way to measure my distance?
No problem at all! Just use this conversion information to calculate your distance based on the activity time.
- Walking…20 minutes = 1 mile
- Running…15 minutes = 1 mile
- Cycling…10 minutes = 1 mile
- Swimming...40 mins = 1 mile
- Paddling/rowing…10 minutes = 1 mile
- XC Skiing…10 minutes = 1 mile
- Downhill Skiing…15 minutes = 1 mile
Swag (Shirt/Hat, Buff, and Medal)
All the challenge swag will be mailed out at the conclusion of the challenge. I'll also keep you posted on shipping information once our shipping dates firm up. If you happen to move in the next 30 days, please let me know so I can change your shipping address. Please make any changes to shirt sizes, style of shirt, etc. by Monday January 6th. You can see/edit your swag and any add-on selections in via your RunSignUp profile. From your profile, select Manage Registration next the Backyard BRRR in upcoming events.
Invite your friends and family
There is still time to help us spread the word about this challenge by sharing it with friends and family. Simply copy and paste your personal referral link (sent in your registration confirmation email) and post on social media and/or share via email. As a thank you, your referrals earn the following rewards:
- Refer 5 people and receive a $25 refund!
- Refer 10 people and receive a $25 refund and a custom trucker hat from Boco!
- Refer 15 people and receive a $25 refund, a custom trucker hat from Boco, and an EX2 beanie winter hat!
- Refer 20 people and receive a $25 refund, a custom trucker hat from Boco, an EX2 beanie winter hat, and a $50 gift card for outdoor gear!
Our Amazing Sponsors
A huge thank you to both of these businesses that have supported EX2 events for a very long time. Please show them some love...Joey and Erik are the BEST!
Baird Automotive
Benjamin, C-note, Hundie, Charlie, 100 Clams, Big One..call it what you will but it all means the same thing...$100 of cold hard cash. During our in-person events, the $100 give-a-way is always a fun end to our awards ceremony. For this challenge, we’ll be randomly giving away $100 to a lucky participant during the virtual awards ceremony at the end of the challenge. This is courtesy fellow racer and all around good guy, Joey Baird of Baird Automotive. Joey's shop in Arlington is open...give him a call at 703-527-1770. All EX2 racers receive 10% off any service.
Integrated Financial Partners - Erik Scudder
Long-time EX2 racer and financial advisor extraordinaire, Erik Scudder, is the go-to resource for all all your financial, retirement, investment, business owner and estate planning strategies! Give Erik a call at 703-840-4291.
Here we go! 2025...and the Backyard BRRR Virtual Challenge!
Andy
Andy Bacon
Race Director/Owner
EX2 Adventures