Coffeeneuring Results 2019: and Last Weekend to Start 2020 Coffeeneuring!

Greetings coffeeneurs and readers! In better late than never news, I finally tallied some results from last year’s Coffeeneuring Challenge. The information and graphs below give you a snapshot of who participated in 2019. If you are so inclined, you can compare it to the 2018 roundup here.

After the last count was in for 2019, 360 individuals achieved official coffeeneur status. This number was an increase of around 40 people. As you see in the chart below, the number of coffeeneurs has trended up over the years. A mere 12 people finished in 2011 and we had 360 coffeeneurs in 2019! Isn’t that great?!

Speaking of great, remember Eight is Great? That was the theme for last year, as I was certain that it was the eighth year of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. However, I was wrong! In fact, it was the ninth year, as a few people pointed out to me. So technically, we are now in year 10.

In 2019, more first-timers participated than ever before, with 125 people completing the Coffeeneuring Challenge for the very first time. Congrats! Several people have multiple finishes, as you can see below. Well done to those keeping their Coffeeneuring Challenge streaks alive!

Four people have completed the challenge every year since it began in 2011, and 3 have completed each year except 2011. A small group of 14 have completed the challenge 7 times, and 9 are 6-time finishers. Good work, everyone!

Now let’s look at the breakout by country. The 360 people who completed the 2019 Coffeeneuring Challenge represent 13 distinct countries. The split of women to men was around 44 percent women, 56 percent men. This is a guesstimate based only on finishers’ first names.

Country	Coffeeneurs
Australia	2
Austria	3
Canada	6
Denmark	1
Finland	1
Germany	7
Japan	6
Mexico	1
Netherlands	1
Sweden	1
Switzerland	4
United Kingdom	10
United States	317
Grand Total	360

Below are the number of finishers by country, except for the U.S. Since 317 of 360 finishers were U.S. based, it skews the graphs to include it. I’ll talk more U.S.-specific info in a minute.

For the first time, coffeeneuring extended to Japan – four finishers! The number of finishers from Switzerland also increased from one person in 2018 to four in 2019.

As noted, 317 of 360 coffeeneurs were based in the U.S. Below is a closer look at the United States of Coffeeneuring – 43 of 51 states were represented in the 2019 Coffeeneuring Challenge (counting Washington, D.C., as a state).

The following charts show the number of 2019 finishers by state. I broke it into two – Arizona to Michigan, and Minnesota to Wyoming. Overall, the theme here is that more people in more places are taking on the Coffeeneuring Challenge – even in places that tend to have frigid days and even snowfall during the challenge. I admire you, cold weather coffeeneurs!

I’ve also put assembled a chart that shows the states with the most coffeeneurs in 2019. Find that below.

Washington state leads in finishers (40), with California (31), Virginia (25), and D.C. (22) biting at its heels. Florida had a good showing last year as well, with 20 finishers. Pennsylvania and New York both had solid representation with 14 coffeeneurs each.

I’d also like to highlight the Illinois totals, as I know there were diligent recruitment efforts to increase participation. (It worked, good job Dawn!) Michigan also has a stalwart contingent of coffeeneurs who don’t let a little cold and snow keep them from their Coffeeneuring Challenge pursuits.

Finally, let’s take a look at how the U.S. cities fell out in terms of areas with highest participation. I have totals by city, too, but there are too many to list here. If you are interested in learning how many coffeeneurs were in your town, send me a note or comment, and I’ll let you know!

Washington, D.C., topped the Coffeeneuring Challenge cities list last year. I live in D.C. and think the city lends itself to coffeeneuring in a few ways. First, it is a relatively walkable and bikeable place with a fair number of coffee shops (which I hope make it through the pandemic). D.C. also has a lot green spaces and park land – good for both cycling and enjoying a coffee shop without walls.

Seattle took the number two spot in the 2019 Coffeeneuring Challenge with 11 people completing the challenge, and Pittsburgh – which used to be the coffeeneuring capital – rounds out the podium, coming in third this year with 9 finishers.

One last thing before we return to 2020. Many things impress me about all of you, the people who make this challenge what it is. Many parents go family coffeeneuring in the fall, and I love seeing how they make active transportation and coffeeneuring work for the entire family. It’s a different level of effort to make coffeeneuring a family affair.

People also use the challenge as a way to be active as they heal from injury. Others have coffeeneured even while facing serious health issues, or as they care for loved ones who are very sick. You all inspire me and I want to thank you.

And now… it’s back to the Coffeeneuring Challenge, 2020 edition. One Good Thing, four weekends to go. Let’s do it!