The Saint Francis Challenge

I needed motivation to get active and I heard of walking challenges so I decided to do a little research and see if there was an app that would connect me with some kind of physical activity to keep me accountable and most of all inspired.  That’s when I started looking into The Conqueror Application.  I downloaded it and was browsing through the trails that it provides, when I noticed that on the list were some spiritual treks.  There was of course the Camino de Santiago, but my heart skipped a beat when I saw that one of the called the Saint Francis Way.  My fingers were too quick to click on the description and as I read that the challenge would take me on a virtual 312 miles trek following the footsteps of my favorite Saint across the beautiful Italian countryside, I was quick to sign up for it.

I am now about a week into the challenge, and I am totally motivated to continue using the app until I reach my goal of arriving at the Vatican in Rome.  The app lets you decide on the pace you would like to go and I decided to set a goal of walking those miles in about three months because this is my first challenge and I want to make sure that I stick with it.  Every day, it takes the information from my Fitbit and calculates how far I have traveled.  On a map it shows my beginning point and how far away I have gone from it, it also shows points on the map where other travelers are at the virtual trek.  I can choose if I want to get involved in chatting with the rest of the people on the app, or whether I just want to walk on my own.  So far, I haven’t bee interreacting with the others and I prefer it that way, but it’s nice to see my progress as measured with the others for some reason it helps to keep me accountable and motivated.  There are virtual walkers who are going slow like me and others at a faster or even slower pace and that makes it a little competitive which sometimes I need.

The great thing about the app is that it also has, what it calls postcards and these cards come along every few miles and describe the place where you are and a little about Saint Francis (which I love the most)! I really enjoy that I am trying to get physically motivated, but also that I can add spirituality to the notion.  This just makes the trek, that much more special.  I feel like everyday I am on this journey with Saint Francis and we are in this together.  This is not just a challenge about getting physically active this is also about connecting with a spiritual giant and trying to learn more about him as I walk in his footsteps.  At the end of the challenge, the company will mail me a medal to commemorate my achievement. So far, I am really enjoying the process and I am thinking that it won’t be the only virtual pilgrimage that I go on, but for it being my first who better to go with me than Brother Francis!     

https://www.theconqueror.events/all-challenges/