PRESS RELEASE

AMAZING LESLEY WEARS OUT THREE PAIRS OF TRAINERS WALKING TO DAUGHTER IN AUSTRALIA USING FITNESS APP

Lesley Dixon, 52, a self employed company directorSouth Shieldshas walked 2,229 miles in 307 days in a bid to walk the distance from her front door to her daughter in Scarborough, Western Australia.

Lesley is using the My Virtual Mission fitness app to walk an overland distance of 9,680 miles to her daughter Kim. So far, she has worn out three pairs of trainers in her bid to complete the mission.

Lesley says: ‘I wanted to collate all my walking to and from work and then superimpose the distance on a map of the world to see how far I had travelled. There are many apps out there that will measure your exercise distances but none show you on a map like My Virtual Mission does. It is exactly what I was looking for"

"On discovering My Virtual Mission I thought it would be a good idea to try and walk from my front door to Kim's front door. As the crow flies it's a 9,056 mile journey, but that would involve a lot of ocean walking, so I made a longer route overland of 9,680 miles which involves an extra 3 months of walking. At the end of each walk I upload my miles and it's amazing to see where I am on the map."

The aim of the My Virtual Mission is to encourage walkers, runners, cyclists or swimmers to stay focussed and motivated to exercise by starting a virtual challenge and working towards completing it with each exercise session.

Lesley's daughter Kim is a 27 year old office manager who went to Australia after gaining her degree in 2010 for "only a year". On February 29th 2016 she sat her Australian citizenship exam and is now a fully fledged Australian citizen.

Lesley is determined to complete her mission to walk to her daughter using My Virtual Mission, no matter how many pairs of trainers she gets through. She says: "At the beginning of my journey I was averaging around 5 miles per day. I knew I needed to step it up a notch to reach my daughter in the timeframe that I had set and now I try to walk my 3 miles round trip to work and back, plus 3 to 4 miles in an evening. It's really helped me stay motivated."

Lesley has included walking holidays in her bid to complete the mission. "In October I trekked through the rainforest in Borneo but through the My Virtual Mission app I was ‘virtually walking' through Romania. I've walked 20 miles on a weekend hiking trip in the Lake District in February, but ‘virtually' had just arrived in Turkey after taking 82 days to cross the Black Sea. Next month, whilst really walking in Switzerland, ‘virtually' I will continue my journey across Turkey into Iran."

Since using My Virtual Mission, Lesley has lost 10lbs (4.5kg) in weight and it has also prompted her to join real events. She's signed up with her husband to walk 6 miles for Sport Relief, along with 20k (12.4 miles) in the Great Scottish Walk, and the 16 mile Settle Stroll in North Yorkshire.

When she has completed the virtual walk to her daughter Lesley plans to virtually walk to Adelaide to visit her uncle, then to the Gold Coast to visit some cousins. After that she's taking the route across the Tasman Sea to visit the My Virtual Mission head office in New Zealand. She adds: "I would also like to walk Route 66, the Great Wall of China, The Great Ocean Road and wear my My Virtual Mission t-shirt, clutching a medal at the finish!"

Adam El-Agez, 36, started My Virtual Mission because he felt there was something missing in the fitness app space. With hundreds of apps that track your every movement he wanted people to make better use of their data in a fun and motivating way instead of just letting it pile up.

He says, "Having a goal that is outside of yourself can really help with maintaining focus and commitment to exercise. The standard goals of ‘lose weight' or ‘get fit' are easy come, easy go. Lesley's commitment to her mission is proof that My Virtual Mission people build up momentum along their mission path which helps them stick to it during those low motivation times that we all have in our lives."

"The idea of actually going on a mammoth walk in real life is something that a lot of people would love to do, but it's just not practical for most people. With My Virtual Mission people like Lesley still get to experience that sense of accomplishment by doing the equivalent distance with each exercise session they take. Lesley has done an amazing job so far and we can't wait to see her get to the finish line at her daughter's front door."

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Contact

For more information, to speak to Lesley, or Adam (founder of My Virtual Mission), please contact Claire McGill viaclaire@garfunkelcommunications.co.ukor 07734 702653.

Link to Lesley's Mission

http://www.myvirtualmission.com/missions/5852/walking-to-kim's-house

About My Virtual Mission

As a goal-setting and motivational tool, MVM is amazing fun as you get to visualize your progress and check out your new virtual location as you work your way along your mission path. You can also use it to set up a long-distance ride, run or walk to fundraise for a charity or cause, since the app includes a function to receive sponsorships and track how much you've raised.

One of the really fun things about My Virtual Mission is that your mission can take you on a virtual adventure anywhere in the world. Heading somewhere exciting, somewhere famous or somewhere that holds personal significance could be your new fitness challenge for 2016!  You could aim to run the length of the UK or Africa - or if you're feeling really ambitious, the circumference of the earth! With every run you get to see your progress.

You can also set up two types of group missions so you can either challenge friends/colleagues to a virtual race or you can work as a team to complete an outrageously long mission together.

About Adam, MVM founder

Adam El-Agez, is a 36 year entrepreneur from New Zealand who has a wide variety of business interests and experiences spanning 15 years. With a knack for technology and a degree in physical education, it's not surprising that he combined the two together in order to start My Virtual Mission. Outside of business Adam is a regular surfer, fisherman and diver with the ocean being his great passion in life.

www.myvirtualmission.com