It wasn't just a one-time event! The Automattic Worldwide WP 5k is back again in 2012!

Set your timers for April 29th! At Automattic we work from all over the world, and we use internal blogs for socializing and exchanging non-work ideas in addition to making WordPress.com and our other products more awesome. One of the things we're really concerned about is staying healthy - we even have an entire internal blog dedicated to fitness.

We had a great idea: Get all Automatticians from 79 cities & 24 countries to run/walk a 5k on the same day! This way we can get some exercise together as a company even though we're apart (though we won't rule out a softball or Texas scramble at our next meetup).

A year later, and there are now 105 Automatticians we hope will take part in the 5k all around the world in 2012.

We want to invite you to join us, WordPress.com users (and self-hosted WP users, too!), in the Worldwide WP 5k - the 5k blogged around the world! The date is approaching, so read on to find out how to participate.

WHAT IT IS: A 5k run/walk (approximately 3.1 miles). You can run, walk, or skip. It's up to you. There's no time limit and there's just one requirement: that you participate! You can do it inside or outside, on a treadmill or on a track, or even do a swim or a bike ride instead of running/walking - just get moving!

A 5k is roughly equal to:

  • 3.1 miles
  • 12 laps around a track
  • approximately 6000-7500 steps
  • approximately 50-60 minutes of brisk walking

If you ran/walked last year's Worldwide WP 5k, why not try to shave a few minutes off your time and set a personal record (PR)?

WHEN: We're all busy, but we want you to participate, so we're giving you some flexibility, too. The WWWP5k is set for Sunday, April 29th, but you can do your run/walk anytime from April 23rd-29th (you've got a week to fit it in).

WHO: Anyone who's ever used or loved WordPress (and your families and friends, too). Heck, the entire Internet is invited!

HOW: Post about it on your site and tag the post "wwwp5k" so we can find you (and for a chance to be Freshly Pressed). :) If you're not on WordPress.com, link back to this announcement post so others can find it and participate, too.

You're welcome to blog your entire route and your preparation (videoblog, perhaps?) but above all we'd love to see where you are and how you're completing your 5k. Give us a picture of you and what you see when you cross the finish line and tell us your location as you complete your 5k with the rest of the world. Some tools & suggestions:

  • Get a pedometer
  • Use mapmywalk.com or RunKeeper.com to chart your course
  • Set your car's odometer to 0, leave your house and drive along a safe course with sidewalks for walking/running, until you reach 1.55 miles (you can loop back the same way), or chart out a 3.1 mile course

If you're not up to running this year, never fear, you can get started with the Couch to 5k method which several Automatticians like - 9 weeks from couch potato to running a 5k, and be ready to run for next year. But make sure to walk this year - no excuses! Will you be joining us for the Automattic Worldwide WP 5k on April 29th?