The hustle of the city, the juggling act of being a parent, trying to balance work and play responsibly. In this life, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by your schedule. For Kylee Toth, this is precisely the type of feeling she was trying to escape when creating her Sunrise to Sunset challenge. Being one of Näak’s top sponsored athletes, we jumped at the opportunity to give our community the inside scoop on her thoughts and feelings behind this incredible challenge. Aimed at getting people outside, the 'Sunrise to Sunset' challenge is all about personal accomplishments. To put it simply, this is the story behind one woman's goal to climb Everest's equivalent in a single day.

The sunrise to sunset challenge aims to motivate people to be creative in their objectives and set a realistic goal to work toward. So many people have busy lives; they can't take a weekend or even overnight away from their kids, work or family, but almost everyone can arrange one full day (sunrise to sunset) away to do something that interests or challenges them. It's important for children and adults to push themselves and have goals and dreams that they follow through on.

For Kylee, this challenge hit close to the heart. While the ultimate goal was to climb Everest's equivalent in one day, the drive and passion behind the challenge stems from a more profound sense of caring for oneself.

It's not uncommon to feel scrambled for time, rushing to get all your tasks accomplished by the time you drop down onto your bed. Preparing yourself to start it all over again the next day.

To take the time for yourself, just one day, to push your boundaries and accomplish a feat that fuels the soul is an accomplishment worthy of a tremendous amount of self-praise. The Sunrise to Sunset challenge synchronizes in harmony with Kylee's other passion and business, All of You Fitness.

All of You Fitness trains people, body, soul and mind to be physically healthy. I have had the privilege of spending most of my life either training at a high-performance training centre or being coached by experts. I recognize not everyone has this background, and it is my hope that through All of You Fitness, I can bring some of these principles both physiologically and mentally to recreational athletes and outdoor enthusiasts.

For this challenge, Kylee’s intentions were set on pushing the community to create their own goals.

While having a coach to fire you up and push your boundaries can be extremely beneficial in training, the option is not always there for every athlete. This is why the person setting your goals must, ultimately, be you!

The sunrise to sunset challenge is about people picking a goal for themselves and finding the strength, motivation, and energy to follow through. Prior to me doing this challenge, the only people who knew about what I was going to do were my coach and a very close friend. Not telling many people keeps the activity pure in my mind. Just plan and follow through for you. Because you want to do it. Then, if you want to share it, go for it!

Armed with her skis, a handful of excellent playlists, and some true grit and determination, Kylee started skiing at 7:30am and wouldn't quit until the sun went down.

The goal was simple, she would ski/climb her heart out all day and beat the challenge she created for herself. It's simple on paper yet tough as nails when your challenge is as daunting as Kylee's 8,849 m. Everest challenge. 

The hardest part, surprisingly, wasn’t physical. It was mental. The monotony started to get to me, and at times I felt a bit low and overwhelmed. I also did it alone, self-supported, so I didn’t have external motivation, which I actually liked. It forced me to dig deep and be my own cheerleader.

When the sun finally began to set, nightfall quickly approaching, Kylee clocked in an outstanding 8,870 m., and 70 km’s (roughly). Her personal challenge was a success.

To achieve a goal as paramount as hers, a detailed nutrition plan was created and followed by Kylee herself.

I made a plan the day before with how many calories and ml of liquid I wanted to consume per hour. I then broke the 12 hours into blocks of 4 hours. I made a drop bag for each 4-hour segment and told myself that I needed to try to eat and drink everything in that bag during the 4 hours. It is important to plan and stick to a plan during a long challenge as toward the end, you don’t think that clearly. If you make it simple, you will most likely stick to it. I am big on prepping, planning and following through. Afterwards, I was pretty worked, and I didn’t feel hungry at all. A Näak protein shake was the perfect way to start replenishing calories and fluids within 30 minutes of completion. 

Now, it’s your turn. Kylee has put out the call to everyone to complete their own Sunrise to Sunset challenge. This is an amazing way to push yourself, remember why you first started doing your hobbies, and unwind from the grueling daily tasks for just one day.

While Kylee chose a skiing challenge, she wants to reiterate that this is not for skiers, but for athletes of all kinds.

A great place to start is to look at three things; your strengths, what you enjoy doing, and what is realistic near where you live. I am an endurance athlete, so my strength is quantity, I enjoy ski touring, and Castle Mountain is within 2 hrs of my home. If you are a skilled downhill skier, perhaps pick a technical challenge at a local hill. If your more of a sprinter, try cycling somewhere interesting and hammering up a shorter objective. Just get creative! But make sure it's something that challenges you, and it's something you will enjoy!

So, there you have it, you have officially been challenged!

The challenge is simple, to pick a goal and complete it from sunrise to sunset, hashtag #sunrisetosunset and mention @kyleektoth and @naakbars, so we know you accomplished your goals, and you could win free prizes!

Kylee Toth is an accomplished athlete, with multiple disciplines under her belt. She runs her own business, All of You Fitness, aimed at promoting physiological and mental health. For every meter Kylee accomplished on her personal challenge, a donation was made to a women’s group in her area to help promote positivity in all aspects of life.

Looking for performance tips to help you achieve your goals, and finish your challenge? Take a look at all of the Performance Articles that the Näak team has put together!