100 000 steps challenge

The accidental attempt

While hiking in Mongolia, in the Sukhbaatar region, I reached an (unplanned) total of 80 000 steps in one day. I just kept walking during the day in order to see the planned stuff, and the fitbit app showed me a seriously high number. This made me really warmed up for the idea of rounding the numbers up to the only logical next one. I knew it was possible within the span of 24h, I just needed to put the shoes on and go out.

The (first) unsuccessful attempt

When I returned home, I decided that 100K needs to be reached no matter what. My first attempt was done in September 2024. Eager to destroy the 80 000 threshold, I left the house at 5 AM to go on a gorgeous route in Eastern Norway, towards Sweden. The route was tailored by my husband, a knower of roads and a gravel pathway sage when it comes to offroad trails, which are ideal for such feats. These paths are cutting the forests and woodland areas which is always an enjoyment to be in. I would never even think of doing such stuff in the cities and even the idea of doing that fills me with dread.

Unfortunately, at 45 000 steps, the blisters were basically bleeding and screaming in pain. The weather was very unstable, humid and annoyingly rain-ish and uncomfortably warm. At 1 PM I gave up, very disappointed and upset, but sure I would give this another shot as soon as I am able.

The attempt on which the number was crushed

So, on the day I reached the gentle age of 43, in April 2025, I did another attempt, which ended up with reaching the magical number.

First and foremost, the stats:

• 100 051 steps / 71,4 km
• walked from 3AM to 11PM
• ingested 1 826 cal / burned 6 103 cal
• the weather was excellent – full blown spring in Norway, around 20°C

Instead of 5 AM I left the house at 3 AM. I walked almost all the time – the only stops were for removing clothes, changing socks and switching hiking shoes.

There was only one full blown proper sit down, 15 min long. It was around noon, at approx 50K. I needed to eat a full lunch, and there was a stone in the middle of the forest, illuminated by sunlight smiling through the pine tree branches.

The rest of the food was designed to be eaten while walking, as I thought that even slower walking is better than stopping entirely.

Tips & tricks

Here are some after-thoughts from my standpoint (as everyone’s different):

• Starting even earlier than on the first attempt was a perfect idea
• Bring only what you will need and use 100%, and aim at emptying the backpack as much as you can on the go – think as light as you are able as you will walk a lot (if this is not obvious enough)
• Bring extra pairs of socks and even a pair of hiking shoes which are 1 size up as the feet will swell for sure
• Layer the clothes so you can adjust according to the weather
• All your gear needs to be perfectly fitting, nothing should annoy you by being even a bit uncomfortable, such as the size, fit, fabric choice etc.
• The shoes must be extremely broken in
• Schedule the walking day after which you can have a chill day, to be able to rest properly (I did not, I just went to a walking type of work the next day like nothing happened but it looks like something to consider)
• The food that I prepared for the walk was ready to be unpacked and eaten, no knives or anything to use, so I could walk while I eat as every step mattered (even walking slowly was better than not walking at all)
• Nota bene – a plastic bag for trash is non negotiable, leave no trace behind (incl the TP on the forest ground)
• Each time you spot a trashcan – remove everything from your backpack you are done with
• Music gives me cadence so nothing slow and sleep inducing cannot be expected to support such feats; besides the regular mostly metal type of walking playlist I had on repeat my kid’s songs which we sing along, and nothing beats Kaptein Sabeltann’s “Knel for Sybilla, Grevinnen av Gral!”
• No shame in stopping – if you are not enjoying such treks, go home, reassess what you are doing wrong and if you want to – try again
• Electrolytes are your amigos – pop a tablet in a glass of water when you sit down to replenish the minerals you squeezed out through your skin

The food which provided the fuel was high in protein, fats and fiber:

• Cottage cheese rolls filled with cream cheese and arugula

• Homemade knekkebrød
• Steamed & lightly salted edamame
• Tuna spread with light yogurt

I eat sparsely when I walk. I can count on a bowl of ramen soup afterwards but during the actual walk I do not even think of food. It makes me feel heavier than I want it to, and it has to be extremely carefully chosen in order not to give me the feeling of having stones in my stomach.

The breaking point

At a bit over 50K certain strange voices started to creep in and make noise, doubting the actual need for such walks and second guessing is there any palpable purpose for doing this. Not even because of the blister pain, it was just a plain “let’s be lazy, who cares about walks” drone. As the step count continued to increase, they became louder. And annoying. And then, at ca 60K, there was nothing but silence. Or more Rob Halford, maybe, as The Painkiller worked its magic. I realized that I am significantly halfway closer to the goal, and the walk just continued without creepy noise from the brain’s basement. Each time I reached the tens (70, 80, 90) I got the confirmation that it was a good decision to continue.

The ideal trail

Reaching 100K in a decent amount of time demands a trail which allows you a smooth step count. Yes, you are allowed to walk 23 h and 55 min, but the goal is to reach 100K and it can be done way faster than that. This is why the gravel roads through the forests are perfect.

I lost an hour by ending up in a gorgeous place, which slowed me down. I was supposed to cut through a stony area on a slope towards a lake but I was unable to locate the trail or direction. I realized that I am losing both time and the step count. Basically, I ended up climbing the stones and having too much fun, instead of walking relentlessly, so I turned back towards the regular trail with intention to figure out how to cut back to the next stage of the trail without trying to find the lake.

Recovery process

I was extremely curious about how I will feel the day after. This was the hardest physical challenge that I have ever exposed myself to, and something had to happen no matter what. The main issue were the blisters and it took time that they heal entirely.

The pain during the walk was very specific, local and it came in waves. F ex, I felt hip tension at noon, but it went away, maybe 45 min later. Several hours later there was some calf muscles soreness but it also went away. The same thing happened to the lower back area etc., but nothing made me stop this walk. The entire body was fully recovered after 36 hrs.

What I did not expect was hunger the next day. It hit me without mercy. I thought that I would lose consciousness at some point, I started to feel very dizzy and strangely exhausted, like a running on a 3% battery. It’s unbelievable how a bowl of butter chicken from a nearby curry house fixed the entire issue in one second after I came home from work.