In May 2020, I am attempting the "Calendar Challenge" - which means running each calendar date in miles on that date.

This means:

• 1 mile on May 1st
• 2 miles on May 2nd
• ...
• 31 miles on May 31st

Why?

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven an absurd amount of people to unemployment. I am doing this as a fundraiser for freeCodeCamp, which is an excellent online tool for learning software development skills.

Online-first, self-directed resources like freeCodeCamp provide a medium for newly-unemployed people to level up their skillset and (hopefully) re-enter the workforce.

Why freeCodeCamp specifically? I originally learned to code through the freeCodeCamp curriculum and can testify to the quality of the material and its efficiency as a non-profit.

I am looking for people to sign up to donate a dollar amount for each mile completed. For context, if I complete the entire challenge (big if), it will be 465 miles. That's a good number to benchmark your potential giving against.

One last thing - I've spoken with the team at freeCodeCamp, and the most fee-efficient way to donate to them is through PayPal. Use this link and change the 200 in the URL to an amount of your choice!

Diary

I will be posting daily updates about the challenge below. If you are interested in seeing specific runs, you can visit my Strava profile.

• May 1st: an easy mile!
• May 2nd: another easy run - I am not used to running short distances, but I haven't wanted to sprint these first runs either. It seems wise to save myself for later in the month.
• May 3rd: new running shoes came in the mail today. Noticed an immediate difference - I'll be glad to have these as the month goes on.
• May 4th: I decided to run trails today with a good friend. Good idea, bad outcome: it was rainy and very, very muddy. Fun nonetheless!
• May 5th: Easily the most unpleasant run yet. It snowed today in Canada...
• May 6th: It was a beautiful day for a run! Logged 7:39/mile. Feeling strong so far, but becoming a bit concerned about time management.
• May 7th: 7 miles might be my favorite distance to run. Did trail running again today.
• May 8th: Today was the first day that I felt some pent-up fatigue in my legs. Happy that I'm continuing to maintain 8 minute miles (5 min kms).
• May 9th: It's snowing again today. Why is Canada acting like it's January when it's May?!