I love the word "quest".

It's a personal reminder to me that whatever I intend to do, be it running full marathons, doing triathlons, having running vacations in different countries, nothing comes easy. 

I just want to use the word "quest" to constantly remind myself about this lifelong journey of learning new things, challenging myself however I can, and exploring new horizon outside my environment.

What is Quest?

Quest: A long and arduous search for something with an obsession factor. It's about challenging yourself however you can, learning new things and exploring new horizon outside your environment.

In living an active and healthy lifestyle, do you have a running or fitness quest that you have been searching for with an obsession factor?

Yes. It has to be with an obsession factor! :)

Yes. It has to be challenging.

Quests from The Happiness of Pursuit

Recently I was inspired by a book I read: "The Happiness of Pursuit" by Chris Guillebeau. It's about finding your quest in life!

There are a few quests shared in the book which are running, fitness and travel related. I thought of sharing with you here:
  • Bicycle around the world (Tim Allen)
  • Travel from the United Kingdom to India without money (Mark Boyle)
  • Walk across the United States (Nate Damm)
  • Commit to a radical focus on his health and write down everything he ate for 1,000 days (Travis Eneix)
  • Run the Marathon des Sables (Meghan Hicks)
  • Walk across Turkey, ending at the Iranian border (Matt Krause)
  • Run 250 marathons in a single year (Martin Parnell)
  • Establish a community focused on ultra running (Bryon Powell)
  • Bicycle from Alaska to Patagonia with their twin 10-year-old sons (John and Nancy Vogel)
  • Set the world record for running marathons in the most countries (John "Maddog" Wallace)

Experimenting with smaller aspects to start off

Were you as "obsessed" as the great men and women who pursued their quests shared above? :)

No worries if you are not "obsessed'' with something yet.... :) If you're still not sure what that thing is, please consider experimenting with smaller aspects of big goals.


Don't want to run one hundred full marathons? 

For a beginner in running, joining a 10km race can be a running quest. But is it challenging enough and how long will it take you to achieve your running quest? In my personal humble opinion, if you are a physically fit person, I would recommend setting a more ambitious quest, even if it means it will take you three years to complete it.

Therefore, my suggestion is:Run one full marathon to start off with within next one year.


Don't want to visit every country in the world? 

No problem. Go check out AirAsia and fly to a new country in the next six months. 

Better yet. Run a minimum 21km or 42km race in a new foreign country!

More examples of running and fitness quests

I have listed down here more examples of running and fitness quests that you might want to consider, depending on your fitness level, and whether you are a beginner or a more experienced runner. 
  • run a full marathon within the next three years 
  • run an ultra marathon (100 km) within the next five years.
  • run 12 full marathons within twelve months
  • run 50 full marathons within next five years (averaging 10 marathons per year)
  • run 100 full marathons within the next ten years (averaging 10 marathons per year)
  • run a full marathon in 10 foreign countries within next five years.
  • Participate in a sprint / olympic triathlon event within next one year.
  • Participate in a half Ironman triathlon within next three years.
  • Participate in a full Ironman triathlon within next five year.
  • To be a sub5-hour marathoner
  • To be a sub4:30-hour marathoner, beating Oprah Winfrey's time
  • To be a sub4-hour marathoner
  • To be a Boston Marathon qualifier (sub3:30-hour)

I know the examples about are not complete. I just hope that some of the examples can inspire you to challenge yourself, to learn new things, and to explore new horizon.

If you have more examples of quests or if you are pursuing a quest currently, I appreciate if you can share with other readers in comments below.


Written by Vincent Khor on October 17, 2017

Image: Pexels