Nike has added a New Year’s Resolution feature to the Nikeplus.com website. Registered Nike+iPod users can participate by setting a distance goal for themselves for the month of January, along with deciding what the consequences will be if they don’t reach the goal. At the end of the month, Nike will publicly display the consequences of people who don’t succeed in reaching their goals.

The New Year’s Resolution event kicks off with a challenge between Maria Sharapova and LeBron James. If Maria Runs more miles than LeBron, then he’ll be a ball boy at one of her tennis matches. If she doesn’t, then she’ll be his personal water girl at one of his basketball games. Nikeplus.com members can also make challenges to other members via the website (as long as you know thier email address).

Once you log into the Nike Plus website, choose “Make a resolution” to see more information. The next screen features a video of Sharapova challenging James. If you play it, you’ll see links to some wacky video examples of people performing their “consequences” task. This whole aspect seems a little contrived and phony for my tastes, but I suppose it’s to help people who don’t achieve their goals feel better about it by laughing along with others in the same boat. Still, I wish there could be some recognition for the people who actually meet their goals at the end of the month.

Making your own resolution is as simple as entering the number of miles you want to run in January, and thinking of what you’ll have to do if you don’t reach the goal. Beginning on January first, the Nike Plus website will track your progress as you upload running data from your iPod.

If you like the idea of this kind of challenge, you can set one up for yourself every month on your Nike+ “Goals” page (though without the craaazy consequenses).

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