Limitless Vertical Challenge

It is that time of year again, for runners to truly find what they are made of-- to find their Limits.  It’s time for runners to take the Limitless Vertical Challenge to unlock their endless potential. 

The 2021 Limitless Vertical Challenge is back, and will be serving as event three in our four event SLAM Series of virtual events.  Limitless will have a little Hardrock flavor to it this year, and will occur as Jamil hits his peak weeks in training for the 2021 Hardrock100. 

New to the 2021 Limitless Vertical Challenge is a variety of new, unlockable challenge badges.  In addition, the event will be 10 days this year instead of 7 days.  Oh, and it isn't just 10 days of plain climbing-- there is an all new experiential component to this year's event including livestreams and daily challenges for runners to win some cool prizes! Pairing all of that with an updated swag bag, and incredible merch options-- Limitless is a must do challenge for all the mountain goats out there.

Choose Your Challenge

As with all Aravaipa Virtual challenges, the main goal is to keep it inclusive and serve every runner’s needs or environment. So whether your medium is the mountains or a cranked-up treadmill, there are two categories, or "teams" available to get you higher: Vert Is Real and Virtual Vert. Before the challenge begins, you’ll select your canvas for climbing and compete against others in your category("Team"). Please know that the live results will not filter runners by "Team" or vert category.  However, you will be able to see which category runners are in.  In addition, the final results that are posted on the Aravaipa Running website will be filtered out by vert category.

Vert is Real

No treadmills allowed. The Vert Is Real category is all about the outdoor climb. From big peaks to neighborhood hill repeats, the great outdoors puts you in the Vert Is Real category. Because, in nature, what goes up must certainly come down. That’s more miles, and more punishment on the quads.

Virtual Vert

Treadmills allowed. The Virtual Vert category gives you permission to max out the grade and grind in place to reach your climbing goals. You’re welcome to throw some trails and outdoor features into the mix, but if a treadmill is involved for a single step along the way, then Virtual Vert is the category for your uphill mission.

Unlockable Badges

Like other virtual races and challenges, YOU are in control. You get to design your course, choose your location, mix up locations each day as you like, and keep track of your progress through the week. Keep us updated each day by tagging us on Instagram @AravaipaVirtual and use the hashtag #IAMLIMITLESS to share your summits as you trek toward the next level. Earn a virtual badge for every virtual mountain and level you conquer! Check out our event page here for more information on the badges.

The LIMITLESS Experience

Throughout the course of this 10-day event we will offer a number of different experiential components to help keep the stoke high as you grind our leg numbing vert.  Every week day we will host a live stream at 3p Arizona Time.  This live show will serve as a way to follow the journey of all the runners (through Instagram), take a check at the live leaderboard, and to announce winners of our daily challenges.

Yep- you heard that right!  Every single day we will be offering a unique challenge where runners can participate to win prizes.  Each daily challenge will be announce on the live show the day before, so you have the challenge prior to starting your run the following day.  For any challenges that we think might need additional planning, we will send that challenge info out ahead of time.  

Uploading Your Results- Best Practices

Entering your results into the Run Signup dashboard is a very user friendly process.  The easiest way is to manually enter your run time, distance, and vert in the Run Signup results portal.  You should also be able to upload a .tcx file into the dashboard as well, however different platforms will read the file differently which may cause you to lose vert.  To ensure fairness and fun-ness please do your best to follow the best practices listed below.

Please enter your activities frequently.  In order to get the most out of this experience, and to see your spot on the race leaderboard, we encourage you to enter your results every day. 

Keep evidence of your activity.  If you want to be considered for any awards during this event, you must have proof of your activity.  This can be as simple as sharing your Strava activity links for your runs, or taking a photo of your treadmill screen if you are running indoors. I will reach out to you if I need to see evidence of your activity.  Otherwise- we are operating on an honors system-- so be honest :).

ALL RESULTS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 11:59p Arizona Time on July 4th.  Please get your results submitted early.  If you are having any tech issues at any point during the event please reach out to me.  If you don't have your results submitted into the Run Signup Portal by 11:59 p.m. on July 4th, those results will not count. No exceptions.