Summer Solstice Badge

The Summer solstice is coming up this weekend, and that means Smashrun Pro users get a shot at one of the most challenging and coveted badges – “The Longest Day”.

To get the badge, you’ll need to run twice on the day of the solstice. The runs can be any length, but the first one needs to start before sunrise and finish afterward, and the second one needs to start before sunset and finish after.

These 2 runs will be as far apart as they can possibly be because – solstice. You can think of it as a chance to align your running with the rhythm of the universe, or to celebrate a new pandemic free future on the horizon, or more to the point, think of it as a chance to get one of the few Smashrun badges that’s both rare and possible to get in just one day.

Here’s a few important tips:

  • The Solstice is either on this Sunday or Monday. It depends on your time zone.
  • Check the sunrise/sunset time online for your exact location. We use the exact moment of sunrise/sunset at your exact GPS location, so if you’re using a nearby city for reference it could be a tiny bit off. Your best bet is usually to just ask Google.

  • Build in a buffer. It takes time to get ready when you’re tired, and it’s also a near guarantee that your watch is going to choose this day of all days to take 5 minutes to get GPS.
  • RUN OUTSIDE. The whole point is to watch the sunrise and set. You should feel one with nature, and remember the experience, yaddda, yadda, earn a badge. A treadmill run won’t count. You need GPS.
  • If you live south of the equator, then just substitute shortest for longest and winter for summer, but otherwise everything else still applies.

31 Comments

Wes Haire

I have this run planned for Saturday, but reading this, I’m very disappointed that my treadmill runs won’t count. Pretty exclusionary…

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chris

We set the outdoor requirement for two reasons. One is practical, we need to know exactly where you are on the planet to know when sunrise/sunset happened. The second reason is more philosophical. Starting a run before sunrise on the solstice, the first rays breaking the horizon, the morning dew sticking to your face, and then watching the sun set and disappear for your 2nd run of the day…these things can be a little magical sometimes. We rarely do them, because living our lives leaves little time for magic. So the badge is an excuse to set aside practical concerns and open up to the possibility of a little magic.

But, that said, these are *your* badges. If you can’t run outside, or you don’t feel safe, or you’re on an aircraft carrier, or whatever the reason, go ahead and do a treadmill run at the appropriate times. Then just email us at hi@smashrun.com and we’ll make sure you get the badge.

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Wes Haire

I appreciate it. I also don’t use a GPS enabled watch (Samsung Gear S3), so I wouldn’t have the reporting needed anyways. Thanks very much!

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Tim Ward

Definitely doing this this year. What source do you use for sunset sunrise times – don’t want to get up that early and get it wrong!!!

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chris

We use the DarkSky API. It’s calculated for your exact GPS location. But I can’t find an easy way to get that data from their website. Google’s result should be just fine. Just remember, it takes about 5X as long to put on your running clothes and get out the door when it’s before dawn. πŸ™‚

If it’s dark when you start and not dark when you finish you’re all set.

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Tim Ward

Thanks Chris. Just need to unlearn my ability to silence my alarm whilst remaining asleep…

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Kenneth

Yes! I’ve gone pro two months ago and I’ve marked this badge on my calendar the very same day. I might even go crazy and get up thirty minutes earlier and drive to the beach.

Oh wait, our beach is on the west coast πŸ™‚ Maybe for the sunset run then.

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chris

I find it amazing. I’m here on this earth. I’ve got complete volition to seek as much joy as I can find. And yet I haven’t been for a run on a beach at sunrise or sunset, except for maybe a handful of times in my entire life.
Do it! Bring a towel so you can dip into the ocean afterward, and a nice ripe peach to eat afterward. Life’s too short.

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Coffee U

Looks like I’ll need to miss this badge, because I’m doing my own longest day. Start at sunrise, finish at sunset. 15h:23m where I live.

Happy Solstice everyone.

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Amy

Is it a pro only badge?
Also – would 30 minutes each run cover it? I’m unsure haha and that’s about all I can manage at the moment.

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Gary

Got this badge twice last year. First in Tromso Norway, which was interesting as the sun never actually set there on the solstice (Midnight Sun Marathon time). Then again in Melbourne, Australia in December.

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Patrick

Did this already, and it IS special. But then again, 3 times a week i get up at 5:30 local time to do runs around sunrise. I just love the quietness of the local streets, running on small and big street in the middel of the road without danger. And most of the time making beautifull pictures of the first sunrays shinnig onthe fields or through foliage.
Highly recommended to do this badge

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Bryan

I’m a mid-day runner and NOT a morning person. I’ve never run earlier than 11 AM local and that is pretty early for me. After reading about this badge and some of the comments, I feel inspired to give this a try. Can’t remember the last time I was up before 8 AM though . 5 AM seems impossible considering I usually don’t go to bed before 2 AM!

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Eric

Oh yes, what a wonderful feeling this morning seeing sunrise when running alone on the road! By the way Chris, thank you for the new basemaps, great choice.

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Ingo Dierkschnieder

Is it possible to get that badge in retrospect? I’ve done the required runs but haven’t gone pro yet; however I might be convinced if I get that badge πŸ™‚

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chris

Yep. When you go pro you have the option of either earning all the badges from the date you registered, or you can earn the badges starting from the day you went pro. Also, if you wanted to start earn the pro badges from the say, today. I could in theory backdate it to today, so that’s a 3rd option.

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Mark P

I really wanted to do this (the winter edition for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere)… got my long run in at dawn, but ended up having a very late lunch out with my wife and daughter so I couldn’t get the other half of the equation. Ah well, there’s always next year.

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chris

It’s challenging to write blog posts for both sides of the equator. Rather than saying Summer/Winter and longest/shortest we just added a bullet point at the end for those south of the equator to substitute Winter for Summer.

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Nina Lili

Ugh, I won’t be doing this again! Set alarm to 5:00 and heard the rain. Ran very shortly from 5:13 to 5:20 and went back to bed, soaking wet. But hey, first part done πŸ™‚ About time I get this badge.

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Richard Noe

Solstice was listed as 6/20 at 10:30 PM here in Racine WI. Ran AM and PM but no award?

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chris

So sorry Richard, that badge is part of Smashrun Pro badge set.

That said, we’ve got a one month plan that’s pretty cheap, and a 7 day refund policy even on the 1 month plan. So you could upgrade, get your badge, play around with the pro features until the end of the week, and then email me for a refund, and you’ll keep your well-earned badge.

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Mark

Hi Chris,

Since the June solstice occurs at 03:32 GMT on 21 June 2021, I think it follows that anyone in a time zone east of GMT+4 will experience the solstice on 21 June 2021 rather than 20 June 2021. I noticed that my run yesterday (20 June in GMT+2) was tagged as winter solstice (I’m in the southern hemisphere) but my runs today (21 June in GMT+2) were not. Is there perhaps something I am not following in the Smashrun calculation of these tags for 2021?

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chris

There was definitely a problem with the notable. I’ve patched the code, and it should show up correctly now. Luckily the badge award code is entirely different, and it looks like that worked as it should.
Congrats. Well done!

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Kirkland

I love events/badges like this. It keeps the numbers interesting, and adds another layer of fun to something I already love doing! I hope there are more of these to come!

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