The factor I pondered when I read about Jenny's plan was bringing competitiveness to the Camino. I played my sons' games of "look at me" for many years. We both enjoyed it, but I was glad when that phase was over. Some people never outgrow it. They become professional athletes, performers, and writers. Some become Forum posters, and often cast the first stone.
Competitiveness put Man at the top of the food chain (the polar bear might dispute that), so it must have importance in The Plan. However, an important thread in the words of Jesus was that cooperation is much more important than competition. Economists agree that cooperation was the most important factor in economic development, and many of the studies on maximizing overall benefits emphasize that reaching the win-win box in the matrix requires cooperation, not competition.
Each of us uses some sort of competition to finish a Camino, even if it is as basic as repeating that you only need to take one more step. The majority of pilgrims complete it in relative obscurity; no charity, no announcements beyond telling friends, no interviews, no press conferences, no records.
I never became interested in golf. Early on, I observed that all golfers feel compelled to bet on the game. I asked myself, "Why would anyone be interested in playing a game that was so inherently dull that they had to add the thrill of wagering to make it interesting?"
I cannot do what Jenny did. If I could do it, would I? Is walking the Camino so trivial that I would need to do it in a series of ultra-marathons for it to be worthwhile to me?
When you think that reality TV may have trivialized reality itself, or that we have begun to trivialize religion, remember that there probably is a Guinness Book of Records entry for saying the most rosaries in a 24-hour period.