For most of the decade I’ve been using a Garmin watch, I wasn’t really aware of badges. These would pop up occasionally after activities to highlight some kind of achievement, but they never really drew me in.
The badge that eventually got me interested in the whole collection is Mythical Sleep, earned when you get a perfect sleep score of 100. As a father of two young children, this seemed a lot harder to earn than even the crazy physical challenges required for some badges, and so I’ve been hoping to see that perfect sleep score each morning.
So far, my hopes remain unfulfilled, and the Mythical Sleep badges certainly earns its spot in my top five hardest Garmin Connect badges to come by, which you’ll find below, along with a poll where you'll get the chance to flex how many of the top five you’ve earned yourself.
Insanity
It’s not hard to see why the Insanity badge is considered one of the hardest available, because to earn it, you have to run 100 miles in a single activity.
I’m a very keen runner and have earned the marathon badge 15 times in Garmin Connect as well as the 50-mile ultra badge, but 100 miles is a whole other level, and I can’t see it being a badge I pick up anytime soon.
This is one of the badges rated worth eight points in Garmin Connect, which is as high as the points system goes — the points you earn accumulate to help you "level up." I’m at level 5, 107 points away from level 6, for example. Insanity is well worth its eight points.
Appalachian Trail
This is a long-term challenge where you work towards walking the length of the Appalachian Trail, which is around 2,175 miles or 3,500km long. Garmin suggests that it will take almost 4.9 million steps.
While the Appalachian Trail badge is less demanding than other eight-pointers, because you can just set it up and let it tick away in the background, it does take a long time to rack up that many steps.
I’m tackling the Appalachian Trail challenge right now myself, and I’m 31% of the way to the finish, having recently crossed the 1,000km mark.
Speedy Century
This cycling challenge doesn’t just require you to cover 100 miles during an activity, but to do so in under five hours, so you can’t take it easy and slowly rack up the distance.
Even experienced cyclists will find this a challenge, and the fact that there is a time limit means it’s one where you can actually fail, as opposed to other long-distance efforts where you know you have to reach the distance to be sure of the badge.
Mythical Sleep
One of the reasons this challenge is so tough is that you don’t have much control over it. To earn the Mythical Sleep badge, which appropriately has a unicorn on it, you have to get a perfect sleep score of 100 out of 100.
I’ve tested Garmin watches for a long time, and while the sleep tracking isn’t always accurate, it’s true to say you have to sleep very well indeed to get a score over 90, and 100 is something I’ve never seen myself.
This badge is only worth two points in Garmin’s scoring system, but it’s harder than many eight-pointers, in my opinion.
60-day Goal Getter
Lastly, I rate the 60-day Goal Getter as among the hardest badges to acquire because of the consistency required. You have to hit your step goal for 60 days in a row, something I’ve not managed to achieve in my years using Garmin watches.
If you set a low steps goal, then it becomes easier, but I use the automatically adjusted target on my watch, which rises quickly if you keep smashing your goal.
Right now, mine is at 13,590 steps, which I hit most days because of my marathon training, but if I take a rest day or even just do a short run one day, that target becomes a challenge.
I have earned the 30-day steps challenge badge in the past, but the 60-day one remains out of reach so far.
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