The CMEpalooza STEPtacular Challenge Starts Today!

My mom is 78 years old, goes on daily walks, plays pickleball as often as possible, and texts me regularly about the Sixers (“That’s it! I’m not watching anymore!”) and Phillies (“I can’t believe Tajuan Walker is STILL on the team!”) Back when we first started the CMEpalooza STEPtacular Challenge, I told her about it and the qualification criteria of 10,000 steps. Her response was to slightly scoff and say “Only 10,000? That’s easy. I should enter.”

There’s a legendary family story that I like to tell about my mom and I. We have similar personalities in that we are both fairly even keeled and not terribly emotive, which masks a ferocious competitive streak that only shows up when provoked. Back when I was in high school, my mom was a decent racquetball player and played in a couple local leagues. I would play occasionally and could hold my own with others my age. I rarely played against my mom because my school sports schedule and her league schedule rarely lined up properly for us to play.

During my senior year of high school, in the middle of my basketball season, my entire family was invited to a birthday party that was being held at the rec center where mom played racquetball. Mom asked if I wanted to play and I said “Sure, why not.” I thought it would be fun to compete against each other.

For background, I should mention that around this time my mom was about 5’5”, slim build, and in her early 40s. I was 18, 6’3”, and since it was mid-basketball season, probably in the best shape of my life. I’d be selected to the All-League team a couple months later (sorry, couldn’t resist adding that. Yes, I have Glory Days playing in the background). It wasn’t David vs Goliath, but it was definitely large son vs. much smaller mother.

She destroyed me. It wasn’t close. The first two games were 15-3, 15-2. She didn’t hit the ball particularly hard, but she would place it in locations I couldn’t reach. She would hit these high looping serves that would land perfectly in the back corner of the court that would have me swinging and flailing like Charlie Brown trying to hit a fastball. It was frustrating, embarrassing, and I was absolutely seething inside.

We decided to play one more game, and Mom started with a very mediocre serve that came directly back to me for an easy return. On her next serve, the same thing happened.

Wait a minute, I thought to myself. Is she deliberately hitting me easy serves?

She did it again on her third serve, and now I was outraged. It was embarrassing enough that I was getting killed by my 40-year-old mom, but now she was going easy on me, too? I cracked.

“Don’t you dare let up on me!!” I screamed at her. “Use your normal serve!”

“What do you mean?” she said innocently. “That is my normal serve.” Then she smiled and went back to hitting serves in the back corner. I lost the third game, 15-3.

(Note from Scott: I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that I also have a racquetball story from my younger days when I was cocky and played someone from my parents’ generation, although to be fair, he was a nationally-ranked 45-year-old racquetball ace and not a 5-foot-5 woman I called, “Mom.” We’ll save this story for another day.)

Today is the start of the sixth CMEpalooza STEPtacular Challenge, sponsored once again by Talem Health. Lucky for all of you, Mom will not be participating, so you have a chance. Here are all the details you need to know.

• The challenge begins today (Monday, April 7) and will go until the end of the day on Sunday, April 13
• The challenge is to record at least 10,000 steps in one day. For each day during the challenge period that you record 10,000 steps, please send in a screenshot of your step-counting device with the number of recorded steps, either by email (thecmeguy@gmail.com) or text (267-666-0CME [0263]). Please include the following information:
  • Screenshot of number of steps
  • Date of steps
  • Name
  • Email
  • Physical mailing address (we need this to send you merch)
  • T-shirt size
• For each day you achieve 10,000 steps and send in a screenshot, you will be entered into a random drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card (there are five gift cards; you cannot win more than one.) Winners will be drawn during the week of CMEpalooza Spring. You can send in each day individually, or you can send them all in at once at the end. It doesn’t matter to me.
• The person who records and submits the most steps in one day wins a $250 Amazon gift card
• Everyone who enters even one day will receive some free CMEpalooza STEPtacular Challenge merch from Talem Health. We’re still finalizing what it will be, but it’s usually good stuff.

Thanks everyone and good luck!

CMEpalooza STEPtacular Challenge sponsored by: