RunPackGuides · 5 min read
Weekly running challenges with friends: make them fair
One target for the whole group never works: the fastest coasts, the newest gives up. How to set a weekly running challenge where everyone has a real shot.
“Everyone runs 25 km this week” sounds like a good group challenge. It isn’t. For the friend who runs 50 km a week it’s a rest week, and for the friend who runs 10 it’s out of reach by Wednesday. One of them is bored, the other quietly drops out.
Same challenge, your own number
The fix is simple: the whole group does the same kind of challenge, and each person gets a target from their own running. If the challenge this week is “longest run”, someone whose long run is usually 10 km aims for 11, and someone whose long run is usually 4 km aims for 4.5. Both are a stretch, both are possible, and you can still cheer each other on because you’re doing the same thing.
Four challenges that work for mixed groups
- Longest run: one run a little longer than your usual long run.
- Weekly distance: your usual weekly total, or a bit more.
- Number of runs: one more run than you usually fit in. Good for busy weeks, because short runs count.
- Pace: a set distance a little quicker than your usual pace.
Each one suits a different kind of runner, so rotate them week to week rather than letting the group vote. A fixed cycle also means nobody has to organise anything.
Set the target from the last four weeks
Use what each person usually does, not their best week ever. Look at the last four weeks: the typical long run, the average weekly distance, the average number of runs. A single big week shouldn’t set the bar for the next one.
Vary how hard it is
Not every week should be a hard week. A simple rhythm:
- Easy week: your usual (the challenge is just to keep it up).
- Steady week: 10% more than usual.
- Hard week: 20% more than usual.
Keeping the jump small means most people finish most weeks, which is what keeps a group going.
New runners get a starter target
Someone with only a run or two to go on doesn’t have a “usual” yet. Give them a fixed, friendly target instead (one 3 km run, or two runs in the week) until there’s a few weeks of history.
Make it about finishing, not winning
Because everyone’s number is their own, there’s no point ranking people. Mark who finished, keep a count of weeks in a row, and leave it there. No prizes and no bets: they turn a friendly nudge into pressure. (For a longer-running shared target, see streaks vs crew goals.)
Doing it by hand
- Each person notes their last four weeks: longest run, weekly distance, number of runs.
- On Monday, post the week’s kind and level in the group chat.
- Everyone works out their own target and posts it.
- On Sunday, people tick themselves off.
It works, but it relies on one person remembering every Monday.
How RunPack does it
The next version of RunPack does all of this for a crew automatically. Every Monday the crew gets the same kind of challenge, each person gets their own target from their last four weeks of shared runs, and the crew page shows everyone’s progress, a tick when they finish, and their streak. Nobody picks it and nobody has to work anything out. It’s free for every crew, and there are no prizes or rankings.
Looking at other options? Here’s our honest guide to apps for running with friends.