Challenge for the nerds! Walk to Mordor!
 

In a recent posting from Nerd Fitness, which you can find here... a wonderful challenge is listed. This is, the walk to Mordor challenge. You may stop reading here if nerd-dom makes you ill, but if you are intrigued and also enjoy walking, do read on! This link is to a fitness blog (not mine), so hopefully it is relevant enough to be appropriate to post here:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/23/walking/

I've been a pretty big Tolkien nerd for the past 10 years or so, starting when I saw the movies in high school and then managed to read most every piece of work that the man had written. Good thing I was in high school at the time because I had the time to take down such an undertaking. But this posting intrigued me!

Someone figured out that it was about 1779 miles from Bag End to Mordor. The blog post also lists other exciting numbers like the number of miles it took for the party to get back to Hobbiton, as well as the Grey Havens. If you're interested in a shorter trip I think you can rummage around and find some info about it.

So I am going to take the challenge... I started walking again for the past 4 days and I've racked up a whopping 12 miles. If you click on the links that take you to the breakdown of miles(http://home.insightbb.com/~eowynchal...d/bag_end.html), this only takes me out of Hobbiton, over the Brandywine Bridge, and into the Green Hill Country, just past where Sam and Frodo stop to eat some supper on the first night of the quest. It took me 4 days to do what they did in 3 hours!

Anyway, I think I shall take the challenge!

I'm no Frodo... apparently the hobbit walked 18 miles the first night. Walking 5 miles a day, it would take just under a year to complete the mission. I haven't worked up to 5 miles a day yet. I've been doing between 2-4, though I'm hoping to bring that up to 5 over the next few weeks.

Would anyone else like to join the extreme hobbit to Mordor challenge? You could throw a doughnut off a cliff or something to celebrate at the end. In fact, if you make it to the end of this, you can even eat the doughnut to celebrate!

So start logging your miles! Set a goal for how long you would like to take to get there, or how many miles a day you will start with, and we can become our own little Fellowship. You can do the challenge any way you like, as long as you can record distance (biking, walking, running, treadmill, eliptical, swimming... whatever you like to do!)

I'll join. I will do a combination of different modes of travel to get there. Also, just to ease the recording process, I am going to count the miles I have logged since Sept 1st.

Hobbiton to Mt. Doom: 1779
Traveled: 25.5
Remaining: 1753.5

NERDS FOR THE WIN!

So excited for our nerd walk! I can't wait to get some more miles in tomorrow. I'll be combining forces too... mostly just walking and eventually getting into running hopefully, though I don't have a gym pass and we get lots of snow and ice here, and I have a baby, so I think my winter walking will most likely be accompanied by Leslie Sansone DVDS... haha... Leslie Sansone goes to Mordor!

YEEEESSSSSSSSSS! I am SO in! I'm geeking out here! :)

Yay! I wonder if I can do this based on "steps" rather than miles- since I wear a bodybugg I know what my steps are. How is everyone else recording their distance?

Kelly315 - You can convert your steps to distances. You can calculate how many steps you take in a mile or you could use the average - typically 2000 steps/mile

Join us, precious.

Yeah, I've heard 2000 steps/mile, though you could measure your stride length and get super accurate on it...

How exciting. Who is going to do some walking today and get even closer to Mordor? I'm planning a hike this afternoon if the weather clears up as it's supposed to do so.

I posted about this on Facebook last night and a friend noted to me that "one does not simply walk into Mordor", and that note duly taken, I think when we reach that point we will have to either bike or swim or do something other than walking to get over the borders into Mordor, you know?

I'm totally in. I'm a shortie with a small stride, and I found a website that suggested 2,400 steps is closer to a mile for someone like me. I'll double check with my bodybugg, but I think that should be accurate enough.

Such a fun challenge! I had kind of wondered why Samwise wasn't super fit by the end of it though :p

I work 3rd shift Thursdays and Fridays, and I have a lot of homework to do, so I probably won't be walking today. But tomorrow, I plan on getting out there and racking up some miles!

Best challenge I've seen so far...While it's true that one does not simply walk into Mordor, it's worth a shot. Sounds like the enticement that I need to remember to put on my pedometer in the morning :p

Joining in!! Love this challenge so much.

I'm glad there are some fellow inspired nerds. I find this so fun!

I walked 6.5 miles today! 4.5 miles with Leslie Sansone and then a 2 mile walk outside. My legs are sore! Now I'm up to 18 miles... there's Frodo's first day. Man! Tough hobbit!

Oh, I'm taking my baby to Mordor with me. When I walk at home she's right next to me toddling around and sometimes I'm carrying her, and when we're outside she's in the stroller! She doesn't tolerate the stroller for very long though... hope she'll allow me to go for more than 30 minutes and get a really nice walk in. Who takes a baby into Mordor???!

I am SO in. Just bookmarked the mile marker site. Giggled with hubby over how epic this is :)

Going to buy a pedometer tomorrow and set my fuzzy hobbit feet on the path starting Monday!

Oh this is fantastic! What an inspired idea. I too shall walk to Mordor!

I LOVE this! Hubby and I are huge LoTR fans, so hopefully I can get him to join, too. Thanks for posting this! Must buy pedometer tomorrow!!

Pilgrimage - I think your name and the challenge are paired quite humorously. This is like the nerd pilgrimage. lol.

Is everyone counting all their steps during the day or just workouts?

I have a new plan. I'm going to walk to Rivendell by the time of the Hobbit premiere. That is 458 miles. That accounts to 4.7 miles per day to get there in 96 days. I think this is very doable for me!

I'm not counting day steps because I find wearing a pedometer annoying... haha... so for me just miles during workouts/walks. I just see the rest of the steps during the day as "extra".

My husband had never taken note of Lord of the Rings until we were married, then I made him watch all the movies. He hasn't gotten into the books but he is obsessed with the movies now and can quote most of them. He has been growing out his beard for over a year now to dress up as Gandalf for the Hobbit. It is so disgusting! Buuuut... he won't get into the walk... lol... he doesn't need to burn any extra calories anyway.

I would like to join this challenge. I just joined and was looking around the forum and stumbled onto this challenge. It is so great and just what I need. I am an avid walker, trying to lose weight of course, and a fan of Lord of the Rings. What fun!

This is my first post here so hopefully I am doing it correctly. I am excited to be here.

Michele

Welcome, znaoic! We are glad you are here to walk with us. :)

What?!

I'm doing this!

I had planned to hold off any real exercise plans until I lose a big chunk of the weight but this isn't about weight loss anymore!

This is about saving Middle Earth!!

Hehe, just kidding. When I was in highschool I had a bookmark for Lord of the Rings that had a replica of the ring on it and I took it off the bookmark and wore it like a necklace. You know, around a long chain like Frodo. I was a huge nerd.

I will start doing this. I'm sure my weight loss journey will take about two years, it'd be cool to reach Mordor as I'm reaching my goal weight.

Now I just have one question....how do we get back from Mordor?

Just bought my pedometer! I do all of my walking outside so it's really the only way to track my progress with any accuracy :)

Hubby and I are both LOTR fans, when we got married there was no discussion necessary - our wedding bands are One Ring replicas :) The nerdiness extends much deeper, but LOTR is probably my longest standing nerd connection.

So excited for this! Trying to recruit a few FB friends to join me :)

Walked 10 miles yesterday and 5 miles this morning. 15/1,779. On my way!

Michele

thewalrus0 - The trip back (after being carried to Minas Tirith by giant eagles) is 1625 mi. You can also follow Frodo to Grey Havens and return home with Sam after that for another 467 mi. I am just going to concentrate on getting to Mt. Doom for now and see how far I get after that.

Welcome all! Our fellowship is GROWING, and we will hopefully be LOSING as we go!

I've done a lot of walking the last couple of days, almost up to 30 miles! :) What excitement! I need to go on a little walk still today to get up to the 4.7 that I'm trying to do... really only half a mile more, so I'll probably end up going a bit further if the baby is enjoying the stroller ride, and surpass the 30 mile mark. Right now I have made it to where I can see the River across the Woody end!

If I can make it to 32 miles today I will catch the first black rider sighting! Oh no!

Off to a half-decent start...between walking around constantly at school and walking laps in a pool the other day, up to 16.7 miles. Now to start remembering that I'm doing this challenge and actually go for walks :p

Hobbiton to Mt. Doom: 1779
Traveled: 16.7
Remaining: 1762.3

I didn't workout today but I did go on a 1.25 mi walk.

Hobbiton to Mt. Doom: 1779
Traveled: 26.75
Remaining: 1752.25

Finally got my new bodybugg (which has a pedometer) so I can finally keep going with this! Yay! So far I only included one short walk that I knew the distance of, but I'm going to add up my steps from throughout the day, I think.

This is the coolest thing EVER! I am so stoked, and I can't wait to tell all my nerd friends about it. I totally think I'm going to walk through the movies on my treadmill...maybe the extended editions. And outside too of course!

I wrote a chapter of my masters thesis on LOTR! I love it so much!

Thanks for starting this! I can't wait 'til I can have a ticker so I can track my miles. :)

Welcome TRom, that is an awesome idea about walking through the movies!

Well, I didn't get any extra walking in, but I did get all my housework in so I guess that's good. Frodo likes a clean house, right? So I end my day at 29.7 miles walked in the Woody End.

Oh this sounds fun! I joined in a distance challenge (500 miles in 2012) but everyone else has dropped out except me. I'd love to join y'all!

Today I jogged 0.5 miles, biked 9 miles, and walked/jogged (Couch to 5K plus some additional walking) 2 miles. That's 11.5 miles for the day. It's a start! :running:

Reading through this challenge is making me want to go watch the movies again.

Oh this is cool - something visual to help with the walk too. And since all things Tolkien will become popular again, that's even cooler. A few years back my husband went as gandolf, my young son as Frodo, the baby as a baby hobbit and me as a peasant woman... maybe NEXT time we dress up I can go as one of the pretty, thinner women in the story! At 265 that seemed stupid (when we dressed up that's what I weighed).

So, I'm in. I have only 4 miles so far as I walked 3 yesterday and 1 today. I also have a step counter, but I won't count daily walking - just workout walking as I do a lot of walking. I'll count an hour of step aerobics (which I do once or twice a week) as walking 4 miles because I walk 4 miles in an hour.

Fun challenge!

Berryblondeboys, you have a Galadriel face! I can see it now!

First day logged 4.36 miles - I'm in view of the Brandywine Bridge!

Scorbett! Hurry! Get out of the shire! I just saw my first black rider during my morning walk/jog of 4.04 miles! (I jogged 2 of those miles!) No wonder that black rider came upon us though... my baby got tired of her stroller and started screaming bloody murder for the whole 2 miles back.

At 33.75 miles now. Now a stones throw left of the road, going slower (thank goodness, Frodo, I can't keep up with you!) Time for some Leslie Sansone this afternoon.

Anyone have a lembas recipe??

7 miles logged this morning; 4 running, 3 walking

I'm so down for this!!! I plan to get a pedometer and count my steps and all forms of movement! Ah so exciting and fun

I get my bike tomorrow and then there will be lots and lots of biking to Mordor. Today I bought a bike computer (odometer - the biking equivalent of a pedometer) so I will be able to track how long my rides are. I am so excited!!!

I did strength training today, so no mileage, but cardio tomorrow! I'll be on my way to Mordor!

I walked a mile, but also did strength training today... Maybe we were throwing rocks or carrying heavy packs or wearing armor or heavy swords today.

I <3 it, Melissa! My packs were over-heavy at the start. Gained arm and leg muscles, but didn't cover much ground :) Today will go better.