Virtual races have been around for many years but have gained forced popularity in today's socially-distanced world. They've always been a fun way to participate in a race event online or one that you couldn't otherwise attend. I've done small virtual races hosted by bloggers with prizes, and virtual races by big companies complete with t-shirts and medals. I've even hosted a few of my own!

What is a virtual race?

A virtual race is a running event that is organized online or on social media where participants all over the world run the distance in their neighborhoods, on a treadmill, track, or local trails and report their finish time back to race organizers. They often include finisher medals, t-shirts, or a chance to win prizes for registered racers.

A virtual race can be fun and engaging, but I've been sensing a recent virtual race burnout in the running community. It's enjoyable when you choose to participate in a virtual race as a supplement to your typical race schedule. It can feel exhausting to run virtual races one after another forcefully because of canceled in-person races. You sign up for in-person events, only to have crushed hopes and dreams when they're converted to virtual events again and again. At first, it was understandable, we are making the best of the situation, but six months later, many of us are ready to race in-person again!

I understand. I too miss the collective sound of footsteps hitting the pavement in a big event with my 20k closest running friends. I miss choosing a target in the crowd to pass, unaware pacers in front of me, and racing for that coveted age-group placement. I miss crowd support, funny race signs, live bands on the course, high-fives, water stations, and dare I say, porta-potties? OK. Not porta-potties.

Half of the fun of the race experience is the crowds, the competition, and the collective heart-beats; while we can't recreate twenty thousand people in our virtual races, we can make the best of it!

I can romanticize in-person races all day, but everything has its pros and cons. I think we can all agree that virtual racing removes some of the negatives of in-person racing. No four am wake up calls, no race traffic, no travel expenses, no long lines at the porta-potties, no slow-down due to crowded courses, no long waits at the start line, no corral placements, no weather worries.

With virtual racing, you run where you want, when you want, at whatever pace feels right. As virtual racing has become necessary, how do we make the most of it to maximize the experience and make virtual racing not suck?

Get Social

I prefer to run my in-person races solo, feeding off the crowds of strangers for energy. When I raced with another person, I was either trying to keep up beyond my fitness level or holding back to allow someone else to keep up with me (takes away some of the fun of racing). Since you can't feed off the crowds in a virtual race, it can be fun to make it social, both online and off.

For your virtual race day, recruit friends, neighbors, family, and strangers to run with you, with proper social distancing, of course. A small but supportive and encouraging group can make virtual racing not suck! Even if you can't convert your friends to virtual racers, there is a massive community of runners online ready to be your virtual cheerleaders! Use virtual racing hashtags on Instagram, encourage other runners with online comments and hearts, share your GPS or app data with the online world, and give virtual high fives to your running buddies!

The Rock n Roll marathon series has a fun Virtual Running Club Road Trip happening now! They are hitting various cities and offered me a finisher's pack in exchange for some local Dallas running pictures and videos for an Instagram takeover! I love their online platform to connect your GPS watch to see the leaderboard and official results at the close of race weekend! We can do this together while apart!

Recreate the Race Experience

Take your virtual racing experience to the next level by plotting out a route in advance using an app such as Map My Run. Set up mini aid stations (aka water bottles set out in advance) or course support (willing friends to make signs and hand out water), print homemade race bibs, and create a chalk finish line! Get your creative juices flowing to make it an authentic and fun experience that doesn't suck.

Run Like a Tourist

If you're anything like me, you know the one-mile marker in every possible direction from your front door, and regularly run familiar, yet dull, routes around your neighborhood. How about shaking it up for your virtual race experience?

Running with the bulls in downtown Dallas

What are the touristy sites in your city? Can you run around the city center? Take run-selfies in front of city landmarks, and see how many tourist attractions you can hit in one run? Can you drive slightly out of town for a new running experience? Brainstorm about how you can make it unique and hit the local highlights. There's nothing sucky about that!

Race Against Yourself

Do you know what doesn't suck? Low-pressure racing! You take the stress off when you're racing against yourself! Choose a flat and fast course and see if you can beat your previous personal record for the distance. Virtual races make great time trials. You win a virtual race when you run faster or farther than ever before.

Many virtual races allow you to submit your time and see how you place in the race results against other runners. There's always a sense of accomplishment when you see your name among other runners in the official race results.

Be The Virtual Race Director

The best part of virtual racing that is you run on your terms. Sleep in, or get it done before the sun comes up. Push it back a day if the weather or allergens aren't cooperating. Choose the day that best suits your schedule. Choose a flat and fast, or if you love to suffer, a hilly and challenging course. Run alone or run with friends. Run with your dog, or run with your neighbor's dog. Music in your ears or no music, you make the rules. You're the race director! You make all the race choices that suit your needs, and you control the details to make the best virtual race experience. Being the virtual race director doesn't suck.

Earn Race Bling

Some would argue the best part of any race is the 5" piece of medal you proudly hang around your neck after the race. Many virtual races include the race medal in your registration! You often only need to provide proof of finishing time to earn your coveted race bling.

Perhaps the most fun and least sucky reason to run a virtual race is to keep adding bling to the collection.

Mindset

It's all about mindset! We can grumble about the things we can't control, or we can make the best of what we have! A virtual race can help us stay motivated to run and set new challenging running goals while having a little fun! Getting outdoors, connecting with other humans, and exercising are all great ways to stay healthy and active in these strange times.

I am just as excited about the eventual return of in-person races as you are, but in the meantime, I'm making the most of virtual racing to stay fit, motivated, and ready to race when that day comes! A fun virtual race around my town doesn't suck!

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