About: Virtual Races
So. Virtual races. Before I started running, I had never heard of a virtual race before. The only reason I discovered what they were in the first place was because the year I started doing Disney races was the year they started their summer virtual series. But, given the lack of in-person races currently, this is probably something you’d want to know about right now.
What is a virtual race? To put it simply, it’s a race that you do wherever you want to. The race usually defines what the distance is and sometimes defines what the time frame you have to do it in is (i.e. what days you’re allowed to run it on). Other than that, the rules can vary. Let’s go through some of the most common
The most common rule that virtual races have is the time frame you can do the race in. Not all of them have it, but a lot of them do. For example, when I ran the virtual NYC Marathon (virtual marathons SUCK), I had to do it over the same weekend that the in-person NYC Marathon was. If the virtual race has a counterpart that is in person, it is often required that you do the race the same week or the same weekend as the in-person race. Some, like the runDisney Virtual Running Shorts give you an entire month to complete the race. Then there is the Potterhead Running Club races, which allow you to run the races literally whenever you want.
Another rule some races have concerns splitting the distance up into pieces and running the pieces at different times. Some races let you do this, others do not. The runDisney virtual races let you complete the distance over multiple sessions, whereas, a lot of the NYRR (New York Road Runners) races require that you run the entire distance in one run.
Finally, the last of the common rules that some virtual races have is that you have to submit proof of your run. What this means is that some races require that you submit a picture of your app or device (i.e. treadmill, watch) that is recording your time and distance. This is done in order to try to maintain integrity in the race. Usually when you sign up for one of these races, they won’t send out the race swag until after the race has been completed. But, not all races have this requirement. To use the examples that I’ve used for the other rules, the virtual NYC Marathon required me to submit my time before they sent out my medal, while runDisney will just send out the swag for the races when the time for them rolls around.
This is by no means an exhaustive set of rules for virtual races, but they’re the most common ones that I’ve come across since I started running. Be sure to check the rules before you sign up for a virtual run to make sure you understand them and are able to complete the race following its rules.
Now let’s move onto the fun part: the swag.
The swag for virtual races varies from race to race. Many races include a shirt and/or a medal. You can find out what all is included in the description of the race before you purchase it. Often virtual races will also include pictures of the medals as a selling point. But that’s not the only swag virtual races give out. Like in person races, they sometimes include water bottles, keychains, and other merchandise with event logos on them. A lot of races also either send you a race bib that you can wear for your race, or allow you to create a bib that you can customize and print out at home.
But, by far my favorite swag that virtual races offer is entry into other races. The only reason I ran the virtual NYC Marathon (because running a virtual marathon consisting of a 1.5 mile loop 18 times is not what I would call fun) was because completing that race gave me guaranteed entry into the following year’s NYC marathon. Given that less than 2% of the applicants who entered the lottery to run that race this year were chosen to run the race, I’m really glad I did it. NYRR has other virtual running programs that get you into other popular NYC races as well.
Now you might be thinking, “Gee Miranda, where do you find these virtual races?” Well, here are a few places where I find my virtual races:
runDisney: runDisney is the Disney running event company. They currently put on events at both Walt Disney World in Florida as well as Disneyland Paris. As of right now, they offer two opportunities for virtual events, the Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon in the spring and the Running Shorts in the Summer. These races can be broken up into multiple running sessions and you are not required to submit proof that you ran the race. If you participate in the Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon, you can combine it with the in-person Rival Run Half Marathon at Walt Disney World to complete the Kessel Run Challenge and receive some extra bling. The summer Running Shorts consist of three 5k races, one for each month of the summer. They usually have one central theme and if you sign up and complete all three races, you also receive a fourth challenge medal. For more information visit: http://rundisney.com
Fandom Running Club: Fandom Running Club is all about embracing your fandoms. They have races on things from the Breakfast Club to Dungeons and Dragons and just about everything in between. Now, there are two other running clubs that come from this parent company that specialize in specific fandoms: the Whovian Running Club and the Potterhead Running Club. These two clubs put on clubs all year round devoted to Doctor Who and Harry Potter. These clubs don’t require you to submit a time to receive your swag and a large part of the proceeds of these races go to various charity organizations. For more information visit: http://fandomrunning.org, http://whovianrunning.org, http://potterheadrunning.org
Peak Virtual Races: Peak Virtual races consist of races of a wider variety of themes than the two companies listed above. They do fandom-based events, but they also do races based on historic events as well, among other things. For more information visit: http://peakvirtualraces.com
Virtual Pace Series: This is very similar to Peak Virtual Races, however they have significantly more races open to participate in at a given time. For more information visit: https://virtualpaceseries.myshopify.com/
Virtual Run Events: Another company that provides races similar to Peak Virtual Races. For more information visit: https://www.virtualrunevents.com/
Virtual Running Club: This is the final company in this list that is similar to Peak Virtual Races. There are more beyond the four companies that I listed that are of this flavor. For more information visit: https://www.virtualrunningclub.com/
Yes.Fit: While I’ve never used it, I find Yes.Fit to be one of the most intriguing virtual race companies. While you can treat it like one of the other clubs listed above, it’s built to do so much more. A lot of the races/challenges offered are more than one race and require you to run longer distances such as 50 miles, 100 miles, or even more. You track your miles through the site and once you complete the goal, they send you the swag associated with that challenge. Additionally, it has a social networking aspect to it that allows you to connect and share with your friends. For more information visit: http://yes.fit
Run the Year: Run the year is a challenge, that you can complete by yourself or as part of a team, where you attempt to run as many miles as the number of the year throughout the course of that year. So, for example, in 2019, the goal was to complete 2019 miles. It’s a great challenge and helps keep you moving throughout the year. For more information visit: https://shop.runtheedge.com/
Now there are certainly way more groups that provide virtual races, but these are some of the ones I use. I in no way receive any payment from these companies (although that would be sweet haha). I just wanted to provide some resources to runners who are new to the virtual race concept.
Happy Running!