Over the past six years, an area runner has issued a challenge to help people get a jumpstart at the beginning of each year on improving their fitness. The runner is Russell Wenz. His challenge is the January Mile-A-Day Challenge. Those who accept the challenge attempt to go outside and finish at least 1 mile every day of January, whether by walking or running. There’s no fee to participate. “I do this to encourage people to move during the worst weather of the year,” Wenz said. Wenz has created a social media page for members to invite friends to participate in the challenge and push one another throughout the month. On the page, group members post photos of themselves, their workout logs and anything else used to work through the cold temperatures. The 2023 challenge, which concluded Jan. 31, drew 126 participants, who walked or ran on roads in states ranging from Arizona to Florida. Members of the social media group were given ...