The pandemic may have cancelled a lot of travel plans, but for Bradford resident Natasha Barreiros, it gave her the opportunity to explore the world, virtually, and change her lifestyle .
Barreiros started seeing Facebook ads about virtual walks, races, and exercise challenges online last year and thought it may be fun to try, but at the time, Barreiros admits she was not very active and was hesitant about committing to any program.
As the pandemic dragged on, Barreiros decided to give one of the virtual challenges a try, ‘The Conqueror Challenge’.
The Conqueror Challenge is a paid virtual race that is based on an honor system, allowing participants to choose a destination anywhere in the world (virtually) and walk, run, or ride a specific trail that is equivalent to the actual kilometres or mileage of the route.
Each challenge is different and participants can sign up individually or as a group.
“When you sign up – it starts! You set your own goal dates, and if you want to challenge yourself to complete [the challenge] in a short period of time, you can lessen the time frame,” shares Barreiros. “[Or], you can complete [a challenge] in two weeks [but] you’re gonna have to walk a lot more!”
Barreiros signed up for a challenge with a group from her church and included her mom and mother-in-law. Her first challenge was to complete a trail located in Ireland called the “Ring of Kerry”. Through an app provided by ‘The Conqueror Challenge’, Barreiros completed 200 km through walking and riding around the community and as she hit certain ‘milestones’, a post card was mailed out to her with information about the trail and country.
“When you reach a certain percentage of completion, [The Conqueror Challenge] plants a tree too! So, giving back to the environment as well as giving you an incentive," says Barreiros.
Once a challenge is completed, participants are mailed a unique medal, personalized to the trail and destination finished.
Barreiros says signing up for the challenge not only motivated herself to get more exercise, but also her husband and three boys.
“It gets them out and moving with me,” she says. “They come for the walks and bike rides daily… after all winter and not being able to do much with Covid, this is better for our health."
The Conqueror Challenge has hundreds of trails from all over the world available through the app, ranging from the smallest route, such as the English Channel – 33 km, to the biggest and longest trail, the Pacific Crest Trail – 4000 km.
“It’s just a great way to be active,” she says. “People may find it a ‘chore’ but this gives you something to look forward to once completed. Seeing this opportunity [with] an incentive at the end, you feel that accomplishment… and it’s not just a walk around the block, it’s 200km!”
Barreiros and her family are awaiting their medal to arrive in the mail from their completed ‘Ring of Kerry’ Challenge which will have a Celtic knot on it.
“Our son calls it a ‘family medal’,” she says.
Barreiros and her family have started their next Conqueror Challenge – The Cabot Trail – which is 297 km in Newfoundland. She is excited to do the trail because she is originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland.
“It’s an incentive to be active, for better health,” she explains. “It’s something to work towards, [and] when you work hard, you earned the medal!”
Barreiros adds, “don’t be afraid of the kilometres – that can be intimidating – just start out small!”
To learn more about The Conqueror Challenge, visit: https://www.theconqueror.events/
