A goal:100,000 steps.A city:Nantes.A day:Friday, May 8, 2026.
A mental and physical challenge through the streets of Nantes. Meet 5:00 AM at Monument aux 50-Otages, departure 5:30. We walk together for the first steps. Everyone tracks their own counter (iPhone Health app, Apple Watch, or any pedometer app) and stops when it hits 100,000.
Hit 100,000 steps in Nantes, sunrise to midnight.
Not a race. Not a competition. A real endurance challenge, done together. We walk at a sustainable pace for each of us. The group will naturally stretch out. Some will do 10,000 steps. Others 50,000. A few will go all the way. Every step counts.
Show up. Walk. Push as far as you can.
Your pedometer, your goal, your challenge.
Everyone tracks their own steps via the tool they already use: iPhone Health app, Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung Health, or a pedometer app like Pedometer++. You stop when your personal counter shows 100,000. Not everyone will reach the goal, and that’s ok. If 100k feels too steep, set yourself a reachable target. The point is to show up and try.
- Your pedometer is your judge, not ours
- Lower goal welcome: pick a reachable bar (30k, 50k, 70k…)
- You can join us mid-day for a portion of the route
- Each reaches 100,000 in their own time: height, stride and pace all matter
Join the participants’ group.
We share live positions, regroup, and keep each other moving in there. If you’re planning to come on May 8 (even for part of the day), join now to stay in the loop on practical info between now and then.
Everything you need, at a glance.
Keep it light. You’re walking all day.
Blisters. Don’t underestimate them.
Even with strong legs and a strong head, blisters can stop you cold. Plan for more than 15 hours of actual walking, not counting breaks or fatigue. Over that span, the goal is to minimize friction and humidity. This is the variable that separates those who finish from those who quit.
- Already-tested shoes, definitely not new ones
- Preventive blister patches (Compeed-style) on sensitive spots before leaving
- Anti-friction balm or vaseline + talc to keep feet dry
- At least 1 or 2 spare pairs of anti-blister socks in your bag
The detailed kit to last 15+ hours of walking.
Tick it before you leave. Don’t skip the feet: it’s the number-one cause of dropping out.
Base gear
- Walking / running shoes already tested (NOT new)
- Anti-blister socks + 1 or 2 spare pairs
- Comfortable, breathable clothes (avoid cotton)
- Windbreaker / light jacket depending on weather
Foot protection (CRUCIAL)
- Anti-blister patches (Compeed-style)
- Strap / adhesive tape
- Anti-friction balm or vaseline
- Talc / anti-humidity powder
- Wipes or small towel to dry your feet
Hydration
- Water bottles or hydration pack (camelbak)
- Electrolytes / tablets (strongly recommended)
Nutrition (every 45 min – 1h)
- Cereal / energy bars
- Fruit (bananas 👍)
- Dried fruits and nuts (cashews, almonds…)
- Salty snacks (key to avoid sweetness fatigue)
- Optionally energy gels
Weather protection
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Cap / hat
- Light rain jacket if rain is forecast
Practical & safety
- Charged phone
- Power bank
- Headphones (optional)
- Map / GPS / tracking app
- ID card
- A bit of cash / debit card
Comfort & nice-to-have
- Small first-aid kit (paracetamol / mild painkiller)
- Anti-chafing balm / stick (thighs, armpits)
- Spare T-shirt (a relief mid-route)
- Refreshing wipes
- Light bag / fanny pack to carry it all
You don’t need to be an athlete. You do need to be mentally ready.
We didn’t necessarily train physically in advance, and you don’t have to either. If you’re seriously aiming for 100,000, prepare your head and gather a minimal kit. Watch a few videos of the challenge on YouTube or TikTok to picture what’s coming: difficulty rises sharply past 50,000 steps.
- No need to be a seasoned athlete to come
- Be mentally ready for a long, hard, slow day
- Watch a few challenge videos online to visualize it
- Bare minimum: broken-in shoes, water, food, foot care
For long efforts, your body prefers walking.
Contrary to common belief, for a very-long-duration effort, walking beats running on nearly every health metric. 100,000 steps on foot isn’t a punishment: it’s one of the best gifts you can give your body and your mind.
Joint impact per stride
Walking loads roughly 1× your bodyweight per step. Running is about 3×. Over a full day, the difference costs you dearly in knees, ankles and hips.
Real fat-burning zone
At a brisk walking pace, your heart rate stays between 50–65% of max. That’s precisely where the body draws most of its energy from fat rather than glycogen.
Injury risk
Running injures about half of all runners every year (runner’s knee, shin splints, plantar fasciitis…). Walking, almost never. Walking 100k is doable. Running 100k is medical.
Cardiovascular risk
A study of nearly 50,000 people: at equal caloric expenditure, walkers cut their CV risk by 9%, against 4.5% for runners. Less intense, often more beneficial long term.
Sustainable duration
You can walk 15+ hours in one day, not counting breaks or fatigue. No one can run that long without wrecking themselves. Walking is the only format compatible with a real mass-accessible endurance challenge.
A breathing mind
Walking triggers a unique cognitive state: creativity, emotional regulation, mental release. Kant, Nietzsche, Rousseau, Jobs: they all walked. Not by accident.
100,000 steps: the perfect distance, enough to test yourself, not enough to break yourself.
As hard in the head as in the legs.
This challenge isn’t just about your legs. Past 40,000 steps, your mind takes over. You’ll doubt. Fatigue, pain and difficulty grow exponentially. The people who started this challenge aren’t necessarily fitter than you, and they have no guarantee of hitting 100,000 themselves. We go together, with no certainty. That’s exactly what makes it worth showing up.
Walking 100,000 steps isn’t a world record. It’s an appointment with yourself.
Step out of your comfort zone
Do what you never thought you would. Walking 15+ hours of actual movement in one day (not counting breaks or fatigue) is rare, and that’s exactly why it sticks with you.
Actually push your limits
Not a Strava performance, not a photo, not a badge. Just you against your 100,000 steps, your breath, your fatigue. You go home at night different from who you were that morning.
Discipline & patience
Holding a pace, accepting the duration, staying calm. Learning to manage effort across a full day is a lesson that goes way beyond walking.
Collective energy
When your head wavers, the group carries you. People will hold on because you hold on, and you’ll hold on because they do. That doesn’t happen alone at home.
Meet people who actually follow through.
100kStepsNantes isn’t just a challenge. It’s a day spent with people who decided to move, to step out of their comfort zone, to commit. 15+ hours of walking in one day creates bonds you don’t get otherwise. You talk, laugh, suffer together, share silence. You’ll leave with faces, phone numbers, real conversations.
- Ambitious people who actually hit their goals
- Raw energy, no posture, no filter
- The realest talks happen past 50,000 steps
- A pool of discipline, curiosity, determination
These are the encounters you’ll remember long after your legs stop hurting.
Your body, your pace, your breaks.
Everyone (and each sub-group) is free to take breaks as needed. For bathroom needs, we stop at bars or public toilets along the way. Recommendation: no more than 15 minutes per break, and keep them to a minimum if you’re seriously aiming for 100,000. Long breaks make it much harder to start again: muscles cool down, motivation fades.
- Breaks are free: each person and sub-group manages their own needs
- Bathrooms: stop in bars or public toilets
- 15 min max per break recommended, keep them to a minimum
- The longer you stop, the harder it gets to restart
This is not a race.
No timing. No ranking. Nobody pushes anybody. We walk together at a sustainable pace, we respect the group, we respect the city, we respect our bodies.
The Green Line as a thread. Your steps as a compass.
The Green Line is our reference route: 16 to 20 km painted on the ground, through the city’s most powerful spots. It isn’t a perfectly closed loop: there are a few branches and out-and-back sections. Why this choice? To remove the mental load of an itinerary: no GPS to check, no map to scrutinize, no stress about which way to turn. You follow the green on the ground, that’s it. Everyone’s free to adapt: cut through, take a parallel street, make it longer. The goal is 100,000 steps in a day, not a perfect GPS track.
How many people have lived in Nantes for years and never walked the Green Line end to end? On May 8, it’s done.See the stylized route
- Meeting05:00
- Departure05:30
- Starting pointMonument aux 50-Otages
- NantesNantes · FR
Media could be on site that day.
It’s possible that journalists, photographers or video crews will cover the event during the day. Nothing is confirmed yet, but it’s likely. If you don’t want to appear on camera (photo, video, news piece), let us know as soon as you arrive or at any point during the day. We’ll show you how to stay out of frame and pass the request along to the crews on site.
- Media presence not confirmed but likely (press, photo, video)
- Don’t want to be filmed or photographed? Tell us at the start or during the day
- Mention it in the WhatsApp group too so we can relay it
- We’ll do our best to respect your wish to stay off camera
Beyond communication, there is no official organization.
100kStepsNantes is not a supervised event. Apart from the communication channels (WhatsApp group, Instagram, TikTok, this site), there is no official organization, no supervision, no assistance. Each participant takes full responsibility for their own participation: showing up, planning what to bring, organizing their own day, and honestly assessing their ability to complete the challenge. You come, you walk, you decide, under your sole judgment.
Read the rules & safety- No supervision, no medical support, no refreshments provided
- Everyone plans their own gear, water, food, breaks
- Everyone honestly assesses their fitness and picks their own goal
- You participate under your sole and full responsibility
The questions everyone asks.
Yes. No signup, no fee, no barrier to entry.
iPhone (Health app), Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung Health, or an app like Pedometer++. Everyone tracks their personal counter and stops at 100,000.
Strongly recommended: 5:30 AM at Monument aux 50-Otages. The later you start, the harder 100,000 gets to reach in a single day. Every hour counts.
No, but honest with your body. Bring water, snacks, good shoes. 100,000 steps is doable, not trivial.
Join the movement online.
We document everything: teasers, behind the scenes, the day itself. Follow us for live location updates, weather adjustments, and the full energy of the challenge.