A Little More About Virtual Racing…

A Little More About Virtual Racing…

by FitAmbitiousBlonde

I had quite a few races planned for this year.  From Tough Mudders, to a bunch of local 5k’s to my very first 10k, I was excited and had spent months training and preparing for each and every one of them.    Well needless to say, 2020 did not go at all as we planned!  One cancellation email rolled in after the next and with each new ding of “We are sorry to inform you…” the disappointment mounted.  When I finally accepted the fact that race season 2020 wasn’t going to happen, I began thinking about what alternatives I had to capture just a little bit of that race-day magic and appease my competitive streak all at the same time.  I had seen a few things on different social media platforms about these virtual races people were starting to do or had been doing all along and I just didn’t pay much attention to.  Apparently virtual racing isn’t a totally new thing, but given the situation we currently find ourselves in, its popularity seems to have exploded overnight.

I was skeptical.  How could running a race by myself, with no set route, or official time be any fun?  Not seeing much other choice though, I decided to challenge my assumptions, give it a shot, and at least see what it was all about.  At the end of May I signed up for my very first virtual 5k.  I wrote about this race briefly before in another post, My Monthy Goal Intention: June but thought I would elaborate a bit more on my actual experience and how these things work.  For anyone who isn’t familiar with how virtual racing works, it basically goes down like this:

  1. You can choose from a variety of sites out there that host virtual races. I just googled “virtual running” and ended up choosing VirtualStrides.com, mostly because this particular site includes actual medals with their packages!
  2. You can then pick a charity to run in support of
  3. You pick the length of the race you would like to run…anything from a 5k all the way up to a marathon (on some sites) and then register. 
  4. All that’s left to do now is pick a day and time you want to complete your race on and off you go!  That really is all there is to it….

In my particular case, I was pleasantly surprised that the site I signed up through very quickly mailed me an actual printed race bib complete with my name printed on it and everything!  There was probably about 20+ different charity options I had to chose from, everything from supporting fire and rescue personnel and veterans to feeding the hungry, and even one dedicated to fighting the Coronavirus. I ended up picking a race that would benefit a cause I feel really passionate about which is helping animals. My virtual 5k supported a charity called the Puppy Rescue Mission.   This charity aids our troops who are overseas in bringing back homeless puppies and dogs they find on the streets while they are serving.  The charity enables the troops to get these animals back here to America safely and legally so they can be adopted and have much better lives.  I am a sucker for anything to do with saving animals and dogs in particular so I figured at the very least this would be a really great way to contribute in some small way to a cause I feel so strongly about heck I was going to run anyway, why not do it for the puppers!

In the spirit of being totally honest, all the way up until I actually laced up my running shoes and threw my hair in a ponytail, I was underwhelmed. Race morning felt like any other morning that I was going to go out and get a run in, but I was committed and wanted to see it through and heck I had already paid the $35 race fee so it was happening.  I picked one of my favorite routes to run which takes me through some really pretty paths into the woods and down around two lakes.  When I arrived at this predetermined route, I got out of my car to begin stretching, and I suddenly started to feel a little bit of excitement.  Granted not on the scale that I feel when I pull up to an actual race and there are hundreds of runners getting ready and really fun music playing and people cheering you on, but excitement, nonetheless.  I took one final deep breath, hit the little start button my Apple watch to track my mileage and time, and off I went! 

I have to say, my competitive side was alive and kicking during this run!  Even though there weren’t people to actually compete against, I am plenty competitive just with myself so I ran the best race I could despite being out there all alone and no one actually caring how quickly or slowly I made it to my “finish line”.  I was pleasantly surprised that it felt more like a race day to me than I anticipated and I was proud when I hit that 3.1 mile mark and anxious to submit my time to the virtual racing site to earn my medal.  Just as an FYI, you don’t have to submit your time to get the medal or the bib, heck you don’t even really have to run to get those things in this virtual world, but that is cheating and even if no one else knew, I would!  The medal, which again I got really quickly, within days, after submitting my time, is super cute in the shape of a little dog in a doghouse, and a nice addition to my slowly but surely growing medal collection. 

Overall, my experience with virtual racing was really positive.  Again, I am a really competitive person by nature, and equally if not more competitive with myself maybe than other people, so I still felt that spark of race day excitement even though I was the only one out there actually running.  I would really recommend this as an alternative to all the actual races we are missing out on this year if you are like me and can find the joy in just going out there and competing for a PR and earning a cute medal.  If it is all about competing in a big group to try to beat other people, virtual racing most likely isn’t going to be for you. 

I, however, enjoyed it enough that I signed up for another one.  My next virtual 5k race is coming up in about a month and this time I recruited a group of friends to run it with me, in a socially distanced pack of course!  I am really excited to see how this one feels compared to my solo race because now I will have a at least a few people to keep pace with and little more added competition!  I am hoping to also complete a virtual 10k before the end of Fall which has been one of my goals since I really started consistently running again about a year ago.  Although not how I envisioned my 2020 races taking place, I am glad to still have a way to “race” at all.  Hopefully one day real racing will come back, at least in some capacity, but until then I give virtual racing the thumbs up for a semi-close second. 

Happy running everyone!

Xoxoxo,

Beth

29 thoughts on “A Little More About Virtual Racing…”

  1. Virtual racing sounds really interesting because basically competing against yourself. Fascinating that you experienced pre-race butterflies. You can take the competitor out of the competition but you can’t take the competition out of the competitor! Thanks for posting!

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  2. I’ve done several virtual races this season. Just got my swag from the Wonder Woman series. The jacket is sweet! But I also submit my time and picture of my Strava. I like to “earn it” if you know what I mean. And it let’s ne treat it like a real race. There are a few live races going here locally but I’m choosing not to participate, I’m not doing the crowds. And they have jus decreased crowd numbers here again to 25 (WV). So I’m good with the virtual races. I’m also recovering from an injury so it also helps with allowing me to set my own pace as I heal. Happy running 🏃🏽‍♀️

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    1. I totally agree with wanting to earn it! And with staying away from crowds. I don’t think there are any actual races happening around me but even if there were I would stay away as well. Thanks for stopping by and reading! 🙂

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  3. I admire you being able to embrace the virtual races. I am a runner as well, usually run about 25-30 races annually, all distances. 5Ks to full marathons. I was training for a marathon in an attempt to qualify for Boston when the pandemic stoles all of our lives. I have been able to only find 2 5Ks since then and they have been run with staggered starts over a period of time. While it was nice to see other bodies on the course, it wasn’t the same and I have found the same with virtual races. I need to race, not run, against others. That’s the juice, that’s were the sense of community lies. I have embraced running for that sense of community. Thanks for being you and sharing! I’ll keep running, hoping to race again some day (but it won’t be soon and it certainly won’t be soon enough).

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    1. Wow I am always so impressed to hear someone runs marathons! I can’t even really fathom running that far but I am having fun with my little 5k and hopefully soon 10k races! I ran another virtual race this weekend and had fun but you are right…nothing compares to running actual races, with actual people! Thanks so much for stopping by!! 🙂

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  4. Keep up the great work! I ran for about 10 years, many big races, like the Bay to Breakers in SF. But my cardiologist friend told me to stop high impact sports, like running and tennis. Great advice now that I am older!!

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  6. I plan on doing a virtual race in September. It can feel very underwhelming since the spirit of racing just isn’t there. Maybe we should build some sort of runner community and attempt to run a race on the same day. We all sign up for the same race and post our times.

    I know that when I did race with people I knew it made it more competitive for me to try and beat them and then inspired me to cheer them on when they came in after me. I have been trying to get some of my friends to sign up for a virtual race, but they are skeptical. I am looking forward to the day that we can all crowd at the starting line run against/with each other again.

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  7. Ya know what I love? There have been several of your blog posts where you talked about being skeptical about a certain workout (Barre, if I remember correctly), and the virtual racing you talk about here being two examples, and yet, you try them anyway. You’re willing to challenge your assumptions and try new things, even if you don’t feel 100% confident that you’re going to enjoy them or get anything out of them. Sometimes it takes a few steps outside our comfort zones to help us find things can impact our wellness in a positive way. Thanks for sharing your experiences and hopefully, giving others the courage to try things they might not be completely comfortable with also!

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  8. Good for you to find that drive from the virtual races! I am also a runner, generally running 25-30 races annually, all distances, 5Ks to full marathons. I had been training for a marathon before the virus, seeking to qualify for Boston. I have recently run 2 5Ks, with staggered starts, at least seeing other runners on the course, if not running against them directly. It was good to get that sense of community. I have found, for me, the juice, the drive, is from racing, not just running. I haven’t been able to do the virtuals. I simply cannot reach that other gear without seeing people to pass. Love your blog!!

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    1. Wow I am so impressed with you and everyone else who runs marathons! I don’t think that’s in my future but maybe a half some day. Baby steps! Thanks so much for stopping by and reading! Hope all is well!! 😊

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      2. Oh awesome! How did it go? I actually signed up on a whim or another one I was going to run this morning but it is pouring rain here so I think I will wait until tomorrow. Hope all is well! 🙂

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