Virtual Mt Fuji and an Ireland ‘Race’ invitation

I’m trekking my way (virtually) around Mt Fuji in Japan, now. But because I’m planning a bit of a Ring of Kerry race against my colleagues starting on St Patrick’s Day, I have a deadline on it.

(Not that I couldn’t “pause” and come back to Mt Fuji later if I’m not done – and that is what I will do in that case. Also pausing to do the Irish race will let my family catch up to me on our UK trek. For the one family member that possibly matters to.)

Also because of the time lag between writing and posting, I’m not as rushed as all that makes it sound. 😁

I find jumping into the map on this Mt Fuji journey so satisfying. I wander down roads, and look at the countryside.

I can’t wait until travel becomes a thing again. Japan just jumped high on my list!

(I’ll post more on the Japan trek in the future but due to the Ring of Kerry race coming up, and the invitation below, I’ll have to post those a bit out of order.)

---

Ring of Kerry “Race”

As for the race around Ring of Kerry : basically this came about because at Christmas I gave the guys on my team at work Conqueror codes for the Ring of Kerry, and set this up as a team challenge, where we would work it together … and the guys were just not into it. Not one step got entered other than by me. Even I stopped when I realized that was the case.

So I deleted the little distance I had done, and changed it so we are walking the map individually. Kicking off on St Patrick’s Day, because Ireland. Apropos!

Whether it’s actually a “race” or not depends entirely on perspective. I walked Cabot Trail with friends this way, and I didn’t think of it as a race at all – I just got the daily steps I always aim for, and traveled at my own pace.

But for the guys on my team, their competitive streak may be what is needed to get things moving. That might kick me up a gear too, who knows??

---

Okay here’s my semi-random thought. Do you want to walk Ireland with us? No obligation… but if you want to walk around the Ring of Kerry too, well obviously you can just walk 124.3 miles at your leisure (as that is the net distance), and thus no purchase necessary (but also no shared map experience). Still, if you do that, come on back here and leave a comment when you’ve completed it!!

Or you can use the button below for 10% off a code at The Conqueror Events (you can use that code to do any one you want, but don’t forget, we’re doing Ring of Kerry, if you planned on joining in). Then when you have used the Join code for the challenge, you can also join my Community to jump on the map with me — the community name is Semi-Random Flotsam and the password is aka.gringita. If you are in the community, you can filter the map to see me and anyone else who decides to join in!

Is this a scam? What do you, aka gringita, get if I use that code?

Transparency ahead! If you’re a first time buyer at The Conqueror, then in theory (because I can’t verify if the link is used or not), I get a referral credit. Which isn’t worth anything until I get enough of them, and then it just gets me a discount on another challenge for myself; they certainly don’t pay me anything.

If you’ve ever bought one before, I don’t get a referral for that purchase, so I get nothing. As far as I know though (it’s not up to me), you still get the 10% off whether you’re a new referral or not.

Basically my thought is: why should you pay full price if you don’t have to?

And what do I get? Like, why not just walk the distance on my own???

You totally can!

The join code from the Conqueror gets you: access to the map with Google Street View of the challenge, postcards emailed to you along your route, trees planted at every milestone (20% increments of the route), and a medal mailed to you at the end for completion.

If you don’t care about any of that though – like I said, walk it on your own and leave a comment here so I can cheer for you!

Hmm. I had a bunch of people who wanted to jump in but these are a little spendy to do at volume. (Cha-Ching and also Sad-face emoji)

Use the link above and steer to the SHOP link – they have multi-packs at discount. I don’t get referrals and I am not sure if my discount code will also apply (again that’s all not up to me). But if the multipack works better for you, I’d rather you get to play if you want to.

If I get signed up with the Conqueror for this challenge, then what do I do?

Well, I think the best advice is to follow the instructions from The Conqueror, mostly because the sign-up process may have changed since I did it, what with their fancy new app and all.

I don’t work for the Conqueror, and can’t offer tech support. Their service team and the good folks at MyVirtualMission are lovely and helpful though.

Once you are signed up, look for the “Community” option (not Team) and use the instructions above if you also want to join me (and any one else who used my Community link) on the map.

Also just as a good practice, I remind you to always check your privacy settings to not overshare any of your info with the universe. That’s not specific to that site, it’s just smart no matter what site you’re using, anywhere. Be smart, and be safe – always!

Okay, I’m into it: when are we starting, and what are we doing?

I’m kicking off on St Patrick’s Day: March 17, 2021. The guys and I are doing it as a steps challenge. You do you.

What do I win, if I “win the race”?

Personal pride. The holy glow you get from helping to plant trees, for reaching all the milestones. And the medal that everyone gets from The Conqueror on completion.

No special prizes are being offered here… it’s just for fun. Again, I’m not affiliated with The Conqueror, I’m not collecting personal information of any kind from you, and I can’t offer any prizes at this time. But you are welcome to join us if you want!

What if I just buy a code and enter the whole distance at once? (Or, what if I wanna “cheat”?)

Um. I don’t know why you’d want to. You’ll get your medal from The Conqueror either way. You’ll drop back off the map once you’ve completed. And again, there are no special “race” prizes. So… whatever. If that makes you happy, go for it I guess. You do you.

Well, fiddlesticks! I would have wanted to play but I didn’t see this before March 17, 2021!

Well hop on in if you want to! We’ll most likely be still doing this at least through March and into April. And there may be others late to the party also.

Look, it doesn’t have to be a “race.” I think these are fun even just as a personal challenge. Jump in whenever, and just have fun!