Justin Kifer is traveling almost the entire length of Italy, but he’s doing it the hard way.
Kifer is starting off with hiking from the base of the Matterhorn into Northern Italy, then he’s setting off by bike for 1,300 miles to the country’s southernmost tip. After swimming across the Strait of Messina, there’s another 80 miles of cycling across the island of Sicily, followed by a half-marathon to the summit of Mount Etna.
It’s a grueling journey, but he won’t be doing it alone. He’s participating in the entire Virgin Strive Challenge, a 30-day trek organized by Holly and Sam Branson, children of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. It’s raising money for Big Change, their charity that funds community-based initiatives.
Only a couple dozen people, including Kifer, will complete the entire route. Hundreds of others will join for just one leg of the journey.
“I was a runner when I signed up,” says Kifer, a member at WeWork Playa Vista in Los Angeles. “I can run with the best of them—maybe not the Olympics, but I can hold my own. I wasn’t a cyclist, and I definitely wasn’t a swimmer, which terrifies me the most.”
So he bought a bike and has been training hard with friends, making sure he’s in the best shape he can be for the journey, which kicked off September 1.
It’s no surprise that Kifer would be interested in the Virgin Strive Challenge. The co-founder of Bad Features, a company that builds web and mobile products, has been a sports fan from way back. He’s also the founder of Sportsy, an online platform that helps kids improve their skills in a variety of sports. And he’s the former director of science and technology for the National Football League.
Kifer heard about the Virgin Strive Challenge when he was among a group of entrepreneurs invited to a retreat on Necker Island, Branson’s private island in the Caribbean.
“I immediately knew that this was something I wanted to do,” says Kifer. He says the athletic challenge is just one of the things that appealed to him. He also liked the idea of raising money for a charity working with young people. He hopes to raise a total of ₤20,000, or about $26,500.
Kifer writes about why he was inspired to raise money for Big Change on this website, which is also where anyone can donate money to help him reach his goal.