Holiday Challenge Honor Board

[Baraboobiker]

I was looking at the Holiday Challenge Honor Board and was dumbfounded by the number of meters some folks rowed for the Challenge. Over 2 million m? Unbelievable! How do these cyborgs accomplish such distances?

[robbiep]

There are a number of people on the various boards who's numbers look decidedly 'dodgy'.

Look at this page :

https://log.concept2.com/challenges/sea ... t=distance

Allegedly, the top person averages over 100k per day on the rower.

A number of others with suspiciously 'round' (exact millions) of meters, including one with exactly 20m meters.

Personally, I'd like to see C2 ask people with big numbers to send verification (by code or ergdata) for every xth workout.

'Trust but verify', as Ronald Reagan said !

[Citroen]

As ever if you've got a problem with https://log.concept2.com send a message using https://log.concept2.com/contact

If C2 don't know about the problem they can't fix it.

[Carl Watts]

Been pushing for a verified meters only challange for years now but for some reason Concept 2 are not intrested.

Pretty hard to get past the verification systems and fake your results and even harder still with an open logbook that also makes it harder still for multiple rowers under one logbook name.

It's way overdue and the current Challenge results are rubbish.

It's time concept 2 dropped the manual entry system that people can just enter anything they want.

[Cant Climb]

I logged well over 1 Million for the Holiday Challenge and completed every meter logged.

I entered every meter by hand. Why? - because it was easier. I didn't want to mess around with the app all the time or thumb drives. I just wanted to get on the machine and do my meters. I also used all 3 machines - the BikeErg, SkiErg and Rower. I'd bike 1.5 - 2.5 hours every day. Row at least a 10K and Ski 5000 - 8000 everyday. Only had 2 days around 20K total - most days I was 45K-60K.

I also believe 99% of the meters of the top people are legitimate. I just can't see someone constantly cheating for multiple workouts a day for weeks on end. Most of the top people are older. I could easily see them structuring their day to ERGO big meters. This year I did the most I ever did, other years I've been close to 1 million but i am still working from home because of COVID, so I could do more in the morning and at lunch. If people did cheat, which i highly doubt, i don't really care. It was a personal challenge and I got a huge base of fitness out of it.

[Baraboobiker]

I tend to think that the astronomical meters are due to individuals putting their meters on "team" accounts. As I'm not on a team, not sure how this would work. However, I do not understand how some of these totals were posted. For the first time I completed a double challenge - rower and bike - individually - and that was truly challenging and time consuming. There definitely are some exceptionally fit people on these machines, but 20+ million, hard to believe.

Lastly, I miss the days of the free t-shirts. I understand the reason, but always found it to be motivating and fun. I've got shirts going back 20 years. Good memories.

[Cyclist2]

It's time concept 2 dropped the manual entry system that people can just enter anything they want.

I knew you'd chime in Carl For the most part, I agree that having one or two verified meter challenges would spice up the year, but these meter only challenges don't really warrant it. Like Cant Climb said, it's a personal challenge and who really cares. This was my 20th consecutive year and I have the pins to prove it. I legitimately rowed every single meter. Why wouldn't I, it would be cheating who? This year was even more challenging since I'm lined up for rotator cuff surgery in a month, and those meters weren't pain free!

As far as manual entry, I adhere to the KISS principle; no thumb drives, bluetooth connecting, card reader for me. If C2 did have a verified only challenge I'd jot down my 16 digit code and log it in. No problem. I log my bike rides in under "on snow" which gives really odd looking splits, but it's MY logbook, so I use it for me. If there is a challenge or race with rules about entries, I adhere to them and don't worry about others' entries.

[Citroen]

... but it's MY logbook, so I use it for me. ...

That is true, Carl's problem is when your results from your logbook escape and form part of a public challenge and that shows distances that don't appear to be feasible to row in 24 hours (or even in the 672 hours for the whole challenge).

[Carl Watts]

Just cannot understand some people. Would it just not make common sense to introduce at least ONE new Challenge each year for those that ONLY want to enter a verified meters only Challenge ? It doesn't affect all the existing Challenges, but gives those who want to take part in a verified only event to participate. I simply cannot be bothered to row in an individual or even a team event otherwise.

By the way there is nothing easier than using Ergdata to synchronize with your Concept 2 logbook to get a verified row, its a one button "Sync" press on your phone. Really the verification number alone no longer cuts the mustard, you need to be able to look at all the data for any given row that is uploaded with ErgData to a open Concept 2 online LogBook.

[mromero680]

It is kind of absurd to me that anyone would bother cheating on a challenge. I love my rower and skierg but most people I know wouldn't know or care that I use them or what my times or distances mean.

[neil262]

I think it would be a good idea to have the option of filtering out the unverified results, like we can in the rankings.

[Cant Climb]

Carl makes a good point about having one Big Meter challenge per year that is verified. Not sure how many participants it would get though.

The holiday challenge brings out a mass of people just trying to reach an individual goal. Being super competitive and wondering warily if the person in front of them is cheating really isn't their mindset, that's what I believe anyway.

For me every year, it's a chance to almost to have a mini-season of training in a short period of time. Once you get into it, others on the board sort of keep you going. You'll see someone inch past you and that gives you a little push to maybe get on the rower at 9pm. And by the end of the holiday challenge every year I do feel stronger, much stronger.

Before the challenge started I had a plan to get to 1 million in 29 days. The plan was 1 hour bikeerg in the morning which is 30km (count half). Then in afternoon I had a set where I ski/row/ski/row/ski for 12k-17k. I find alternating like that makes it more enjoyable. Then late evening back on bike for 20k which is 40 minutes. Do this everyday and 1 million really isn't unreasonable.

What happened though. I just ended up spending alot of time on the bikeerg in the morning and logging 50k-80k. And then a big alternating ski/row set in the late evening for the 12k-17k. I started the challenge behind the eight ball because I've been recovering from Lyme disease. Had been struggling with consistency. The holiday challenge had a defined start and end point. I was determined to reach my goal. No one ever dies from even extreme endurance stuff. People run marathons for days on end. What i had planned was nothing like that but for me was an opportunity to regain some fitness and confidence. So I reached my goal and then some. After the challenge I took 1.5 days off and now I am kicking on. Just gradually adding intensity now. Still not 100 percent recovered from Lyme but at least much fitter and with mental confidence in my body. Not sure when top end fitness will return but I have a strong base now - mental and physical.

Looking forward to another pin in the mail.

[Carl Watts]

I think it would be a good idea to have the option of filtering out the unverified results, like we can in the rankings.

Yeah well I managed to get this implemented with Concept 2, same as the row in the rankings is linked to your logbook if its open and you can see the whole row second by second.

I'm not really questioning the total meters some people can do, its simply a question of PACE and the time you have available to sit in the seat. If you want to sit there doing near 3:00 minute pace all day that up to you, I simply don't have the time and have better things to do. This was another thing Concept 2 could add, a column of the average pace for all those meters, it puts some perspective on what is possible. I'm going to make the call however that 100Km a day every day for a month however is total BS. I managed a non stop HM just about every day at between 2:03 and 2:06 pace and it nearly killed me by the end of the month.

I think the numbers that enter a verified only Challenge are irrelevant, if I end up being the only one in the world that joins it, really this just shows what BS the rest of the Challenges are. Bottom Line I think that Concept 2 are scared that starting a verified Challenge because what it does is makes the rest of the Challenges suddenly look unverified and everyone will start to question the results.

What I predict is the verified only Challenge results will shock everyone. The last Challenge I looked at you had to drop down 20 places from the top of the individual leader board to find the first person to have verified rows and they used ErgData and an open logbook. They were rowing only 1/4 of the total meters claimed by the person at the top. In my mind that person, and it was a female came FIRST not 20th.

Yeah I know I think differently and my mind works totally differently to the majority of people out there and I have just got used to it, funny thing is however it has made me pretty successful in life so why would I want to think any differently ?

[MiddleAgeCRISIS]

There are a number of people on the various boards who's numbers look decidedly 'dodgy'.

Look at this page :

https://log.concept2.com/challenges/sea ... t=distance

Allegedly, the top person averages over 100k per day on the rower.

A number of others with suspiciously 'round' (exact millions) of meters, including one with exactly 20m meters.

Personally, I'd like to see C2 ask people with big numbers to send verification (by code or ergdata) for every xth workout.

'Trust but verify', as Ronald Reagan said !

I think some of the results may reflect the weighting given to rowers who are rowing despite having less limbs than your average rower. So i think a multiple applies to someone rowing with one arm or one arm one leg.

[MiddleAgeCRISIS]

I was looking at the Holiday Challenge Honor Board and was dumbfounded by the number of meters some folks rowed for the Challenge. Over 2 million m? Unbelievable! How do these cyborgs accomplish such distances?

I think there maybe is a rule that increases metres related to any disabilities you may have.

So i think one rower has lost limbs and is in a wheelchair.

I find that motivating too.