The Challenge Factory discussion

Choose your race:
Signing up for your race is the easy, exciting part of it all. The task for this section is to read one book for the race you choose. It should be a book that puts you in your happy place!

Relay teams must run the same marathon together. Each relay team member must read a book to complete this section. Neither team member can proceed with training until both members complete this section.

Choose from among the popular races listed here.

1. Big Sur International Marathon in Big Sur, California - read a book set in California, or that has a MC who comes from California, or with an author who has three letters from the words BIG SUR INTERNATIONAL in their name.
2. New York Marathon in New York, New York - read a book set in New York City, or that has a MC who comes from New York, or with an author who has three letters from the words NEW YORK CITY in their name.
3. Chicago Marathon in Chicago, Illinois - read a book set in Chicago, or that has a MC who comes from Chicago, or with an author who has three letters from the words CHICAGO ILLINOIS in their name.
4. London Marathon in London, England - read a book set in London, or that has a MC who comes from London, or with an author who has three letters from the words LONDON ENGLAND in their name.
5. Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Turku, Finland - read a book set in Finland, or that has a MC who comes from Finland, or with an author who has three letters from the words PAAVO NURMI in their name.
6. Berlin Marathon - read a book set in Berlin, or that has a MC who comes from Berlin, or with an author who has three letters from the words BERLIN GERMANY in their name.
7. Tokyo Marathon - read a book set in Tokyo, or that has a MC who comes from Tokyo, or with an author who has three letters from the words TOKYO JAPAN in their name.
8. Paris Marathon - read a book set in Paris, or that has a MC who comes from Paris, or with an author who has three letters from the words PARIS FRANCE in their name.
9. Dublin Marathon - read a book set in Dublin, or that has a MC who comes from Dublin, or with an author who has three letters from the words DUBLIN IRELAND in their name.
10. Rome Marathon - read a book set in Rome, or that has a MC who comes from Rome, or with an author who has three letters from the words ROME ITALY in their name.
11. Athens Marathon - read a book set in Greece, or that has a MC who comes from Greece, or with an author who has three letters from the words ATHENS GREECE in their name.
12. Great Wall Marathon - read a book set in China, or that has a MC who comes from China, or with an author who has three letters from the words GREAT WALL in their name.
13. Marine Corps Marathon - read a book set during any war, or that has a MC who is a Marine, or with an author who has three letters from the words MARINE CORPS in their name.
14. Grandma's Marathon - read a book set in Minnesota, or that has a MC who is a grandma, or with an author who has three letters from the words DULUTH MINNESOTA in their name.

Hello, Jane, nice to meet you! Can't wait to get this race started :)

Which Marathon are you interested in? I'm good with anything, I think I can find a book to fit with whichever one you choose!

Hi. Nice to meet you too :-)
Great to be here. I’m also looking forward to the race.

I would like to start with
6. Berlin Marathon - read a book set in Berlin, or that has a MC who comes from Berlin, or with an author who has three letters from the words BERLIN GERMANY in their name.

Not only because it is the closest to me but I’m starting a book that fits just after I’ve been out on some errands.

Marathons Done

6. Berlin Marathon - read a book set in Berlin, or that has a MC who comes from Berlin, or with an author who has three letters from the words BERLIN GERMANY in their name.

2. New York Marathon in New York, New York - read a book set in New York City, or that has a MC who comes from New York, or with an author who has three letters from the words NEW YORK CITY in their name.

7. Tokyo Marathon - read a book set in Tokyo, or that has a MC who comes from Tokyo, or with an author who has three letters from the words TOKYO JAPAN in their name.

4. London Marathon in London, England - read a book set in London, or that has a MC who comes from London, or with an author who has three letters from the words LONDON ENGLAND in their name.

That sounds great! I just finished a book, so I'm going to find one that fits the Berlin Marathon and start as soon as I pick it.

Edit: Happened to listen to something quick today that fit. I can't wait to get into the gritty of the marathon :)

Race chosen/Training task: The Berlin Marathon
Book: The Lost Sisters
Author: Holly Black
Date Read: 2/22
How it fits: B-L-Y are found in "BERLIN GERMANY" and the author's name.

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: The Berlin Marathon
Book:
Flea Market Magic
Author: Bella Falls
Date Read: 2/22-2023
How it fits: B-E-L-A are found in "BERLIN GERMANY" and the author's name.

That was fast! Looks like we're off to an optimistic start :D It must be very late where you are! Can't wait to get our next prompt.

Yes, it is 1.55am :-)

I'm reading 3 shortish books "tomorrow" so I'm hoping we get our prompt before but else I've got to read 10 books in total before the end of the month for my different individual challenges.

Oh my goodness, that's a lot. You're a reading machine! I think the first prompt for the marathon challenge (the training prompt) is the same for everyone, maybe? Does that mean we can peak to get a head start? I'm going to bed soon and I want to start something new, but I'm hoping I can fit it into a challenge.

You're ready to gear up and start training! You must read one book for each kind of training run to complete this section. Relay teams may divide the tasks between them as they see fit.
After these 4 books are completed, roll a single die for your next prompt. Relay teams only roll once for the team.

https://www.random.org/dice/

Your four kinds of training runs are:
1. Regular runs. The base of your training where you just go out and rack up miles. You may read any book you like to complete your regular run.

2. Intervals. These are speed workouts. Either read a book in 24 hours -OR- read a mystery/thriller that gets your heart racing to complete this run.

3. Hill Repeats. These build leg strength. Read a book that pushes your boundaries - whether it's a different genre, longer than your usual, or demanding in some other way (your interpretation - tell us how).

4. Long Runs. These build endurance. Read a book that is at least 300 pages long to complete this run.

Thank you, Erica!

Jane, would you like to read two books each? You can choose which two training runs you think will help you with your other challenges, and I'll take the other two. How does that sound?

I’m fine with 2 each.

2. Intervals. These are speed workouts. Either read a book in 24 hours -OR- read a mystery/thriller that gets your heart racing to complete this run.


4. Long Runs. These build endurance. Read a book that is at least 300 pages long to complete this run.

I do have one for 3 but I’m not sure if it will Friday or Saturday I’ll get to it.

#2 and #4 I’ll get done today with the books I already planned.

Sounds perfect! I'll take #1 and #3 then. I'll have to think of a book that pushes my boundaries. Maybe romance? I'm not familiar with that genre very much, so I might go with that. I'll think of something today!

Happy reading!

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: 4. Long Runs. These build endurance. Read a book that is at least 300 pages long to complete this run.
Prelude to a Witch
Author: Amanda M. Lee
Date Read: 2/23-2023
How it fits: 320 pages

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: 2. Intervals. These are speed workouts. Either read a book in 24 hours -OR- read a mystery/thriller that gets your heart racing to complete this run.
Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper
Author: J.L. Bryan
Date Read: 2/23-2023
How it fits: Read it in about 3½ hours / also a thriller and some of those ghosts were pretty scary

Completion

Training task: 3. Hill Repeats. These build leg strength. Read a book that pushes your boundaries - whether it's a different genre, longer than your usual, or demanding in some other way (your interpretation - tell us how).

Author: Lynn Cahoon
Date Read: 2/23
How it fits: I don't read books like this, this was very much out of my comfort zone, believe it or not!

Completion

Training task: 1. Regular runs. The base of your training where you just go out and rack up miles. You may read any book you like to complete your regular run.

Author: Alex Michaelides
Date Read: 2/24

I rolled the die for us, I didn't think you'd mind.

Rolled a 1

1 = Your favorite shoes are no longer made so you have to try new ones. Spell out NEW SHOES -or- read a book with the words New Shoes in the title.

Oh dear, that's a challenge.

What would you like to do, Jane?

Hmm, that's a bit difficult. I don't really have space for books this month that are not already on my list even though there is a few books on KU with new shoes in the title.

For the spell-out I just finished (30 min ago) a book for E and over the next few days I should be able to cover N, E, W, S and H for the books I need this month.

So if we both have to read a book with new shoes in title, I would rather the spell-out

I'd rather spell it out as well and just take a few extra days to do that. But it would be unfair if you read almost all of the letters! Do you want to divide it in half? I might be a little slower reading over the weekend, but I'm happy to take whatever letters.

However you want to do it, I do need to read most of these books anyway but 4 each is fair.
The one letter I haven't got is O and if we don't count my book from today (and we don't need to) we need another E as well.

Apart from that feel free to read any of the others.

And we are not in any hurry so don't worry about the timeframe.

The only reason I'm reading this much is that I've had a a week earlier in February where I didn't read at all. Hopefully next month I'll be better at spacing my books over the whole month. LOL

I'll read at a good pace and then I'll get busy and won't be able to sit down, let alone read lol I guess the word "marathon" makes me want to race through books!

I'll definitely take the O then and the other E and S, and if you don't mind I'll take the W. (I have a lot of W's to read for some reason!)

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
The Railway Children
Author: E. Nesbit
Date Read: 2/24-2023
How it fits: Author initial E

Spell out New Shoes

For spell outs, you may use the author's first or last initial or the first letter of the book's title (you may opt to ignore a, an and the in a title).

N: A New York Love Story by Cassie Rocca 2/26-23 (Jane)
E: E. Nesbit: The Railway Children 2/24-23 (Jane)
W: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher 2/26-23 (Becca)
S: Saberton, Ruth: Christmas on the Creek 2/25-23 (Jane)
H: Hazelwood, Ali: Love on the Brain 2/28-23 (Jane)
O: Osman, Richard: The Thursday Murder Club 2/28-23 (Becca)
E: Euripides: The Bacchae 2/25-23 (Becca)
S: The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman 2/27-23 (Becca)

Completion

Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
The Bacchae
Author: Euripides
Date Read: 2/25
How it fits: Author initial E

You can work together on the spell out, so maybe use The Railway Children for your N and The Bacchae for the E?

Erica wrote: "You can work together on the spell out, so maybe use The Railway Children for your N and The Bacchae for the E?"

Don't we need two E's?

Becca wrote: "Erica wrote: "You can work together on the spell out, so maybe use The Railway Children for your N and The Bacchae for the E?"

Don't we need two E's?"

Lol, yes. I USED to be blond and the roots are apparently still powerful!

Erica wrote: "Becca wrote: "Erica wrote: "You can work together on the spell out, so maybe use The Railway Children for your N and The Bacchae for the E?"

Don't we need two E's?"

Lol, yes. I USED to be blond a..."

LOL that's okay! I only make mistakes like that a dozen times today, you're in good company here!

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
Christmas on the Creek
Author: Ruth Saberton
Date Read: 2/25-2023
How it fits: Author initial S

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
A New York Love Story
Author: Cassie Rocca
Date Read: 2/26-2023
How it fits: Title N

Completion Extra W

(view spoiler)[
Race chosen/Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
When You Got a Good Thing
Author: Kait Nolan
Date Read: 2/26-2023
How it fits: Title W (hide spoiler)]

I'm just adding as extra what I read but I might not get to my H book till Tuesday.

Completion

Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking
Author: T. Kingfisher
Date Read: 2/26
How it fits: Title has a W

Jane wrote: "I'm just adding as extra what I read but I might not get to my H book till Tuesday."

Take your time, we're doing great so far! I should have my other two by Tuesday or so, we're right on pace with each other.

Completion

Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
The Sleeper and the Spindle
Author: Neil Gaiman
Date Read: 2/27
How it fits: Title has a S

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
Love on the Brain
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Date Read: 2/28-2023
How it fits: Author initial H

Completion

Training task: Spell out NEW SHOES
The Thursday Murder Club
Author: Richard Osman
Date Read: 2/28
How it fits: Author initial O

We did it! That didn't take too long. This is much easier than an actual marathon LOL

I don't think I would get through an actual marathon. LOL not even a 5k

Spell out New Shoes COMPLETED

For spell outs, you may use the author's first or last initial or the first letter of the book's title (you may opt to ignore a, an and the in a title).

N: A New York Love Story by Cassie Rocca 2/26-23 (Jane)
E: E. Nesbit: The Railway Children 2/24-23 (Jane)
W: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher 2/26-23 (Becca)
S: Saberton, Ruth: Christmas on the Creek 2/25-23 (Jane)
H: Hazelwood, Ali: Love on the Brain 2/28-23 (Jane)
O: Osman, Richard: The Thursday Murder Club 2/28-23 (Becca)
E: Euripides: The Bacchae 2/25-23 (Becca)
S: The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman 2/27-23 (Becca)

Your training is going well and you are ready to run some tune-up races! You will run three different kinds of races. Relay teams may divide the tasks between them as they see fit.
After these 6 books are completed, roll a single die for your next prompt. Relay teams only roll once for the team.

https://www.random.org/dice/

1. 5K Race. A short and fairly speedy race. Read a book of 200 pages or less in a single day -OR- read a book of over 200 pages in two days to complete this race .

2. 10K Race. A bit more effort and taxes the body more. Read two books that are over 200 pages long to complete this race.

3. Half marathon. The half marathon is a demanding event that is a good indicator of your overall training. Read three series books to complete this race. The books do not have to be from the same series.

Thank you, Erica!

Jane, not sure how you want to divide these. I don't have any books line up that are less than 200 pages, do you? The rest should be easy for us, it looks like we regularly read books that end up in these categories.

Yes, it looks fairly easy.


✅ 1. 5K Race. A short and fairly speedy race. Read a book of 200 pages or less in a single day -OR- read a book of over 200 pages in two days to complete this race .
I have a book that I need to read today that fits this that I'm reading today

2. 10K Race. A bit more effort and taxes the body more. Read two books that are over 200 pages long to complete this race.
Here I think 1 each

3. Half marathon. The half marathon is a demanding event that is a good indicator of your overall training. Read three series books to complete this race. The books do not have to be from the same series.
If we are splitting evenly as usual then you 2 and me 1.

I'm most likely not going to have time to read much Friday and Saturday but I should also be able to finish these 3 books before then.

That sounds perfect, fits in with my reads coming up beautifully. I have a pretty chunky series book coming up that might take an extra day, so don't rush through anything on my account :)

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: 5K Race. A short and fairly speedy race. Read a book of 200 pages or less in a single day -OR- read a book of over 200 pages in two days to complete this race .
After the Blitz
Author: Savannah Adams
Date Read: 3/1-23
How it fits: Book is 160 pages and I read in a single day

Completion

Race chosen/Training task: 3. Half marathon. The half marathon is a demanding event that is a good indicator of your overall training. Read three series books to complete this race. The books do not have to be from the same series.
One Hundred Glances
Author: Kelly Collins
Date Read: 3/2-23
How it fits: Aspen Cove #14

Completion

Training task: 10k - Book over 200 pages
The Woman in Cabin 10
Author: Ruth Ware
Date Read: 3/2
How it fits: Book is over 200 pages