In a quest for free burritos, six cities saw a flurry of pavement pounding as Strava users raced to claim the title of ‘Local Legend‘ on a specially designated segment next to Chipotle. While the challenge seemed straightforward – whoever completed the segment the most times would win – some winners found a loophole that led to a hilarious outcome.
Strava and Chipotle created a Strava Segment challenge for the month of January in 6 cities in the United States.
Each segment was roughly 300 meters long and next to a specific Chipotle in each of the chosen cities.
The person who completed that segment the most times, becoming the coveted Local Legend, would win.
Simple as that.
Unlike regular segment challenges, speed wouldn’t be a factor here. Instead, just the person with enough time on their hands to run this section of Chipotle-chosen pavement the most.
These were the six specific segments up for grabs here:
Chipotle LA Segment: 0.3km / Flat
Chipotle NYC Segment: 0.3km / 3% grade
Chipotle DC Segment: 0.28km / -2% grade
Chipotle Chicago Segment: 0.33km / Flat
Chipotle Columbus Segment: 0.32km / 2% grade
Chipotle Denver Segment: 0.32km / Flat
The competition heated up in Washington, DC, where Joshua Bauer would claim victory.
Bauer would run the most attempts of a Chiptole segment out of anyone in all six cities, recording a mind-boggling 1,345 segment attempts.
A. (Fern) Hayes took the Columbus segment by completing it 1,000 times, far and away from the next closest competitor, who recorded a mere 376 attempts in comparison.
In Denver, Sam Werner and Mark Maguire battled it out from the beginning, but it would be Werner who claims his year of free Chipotle after completing 1,041 segment attempts.
Cody Clark dominated the crowded sidewalks of New York City. Clark was on the segment from day one, before anyone else really knew what was going on, giving him an advantage as he racked up 832 repeats of the segment.
Andrew Redden took an impressive win on the Chicago segment after completing the segment 613 times. What makes it even more impressive is that he managed his win while being away in Mexico for some time, as he recorded some runs south of the border.
But it was the clever crew in Los Angeles who truly outsmarted everyone.
Shawnt Bazikian and his cohorts discovered that in the event of a tie, all tied entrants would win the prize. With this knowledge in hand, they orchestrated a plan to reach a mutually beneficial tie, ensuring each member claimed victory.
Their scheme, which also included Aubrey Robinson, Zooming Guy 2, Adam Neulander, and Kevin Russ, showcased the power of reading the fine print (and teamwork). They secured their place atop the leaderboard and a year’s worth of burritos by maintaining a specific number of attempts.
The crew each completed the segment only 369 times, but all managed a free year of Chipotle.
As the dust settles on this hilarious escapade, one thing is certain – the Chipotle Segment Challenge brought together runners from across the country in pursuit of a common goal: delicious and FREE burritos.
And while the pavement may have seen its fair share of footprints, the camaraderie and creativity of the winners truly stole the show.
