Do you enjoy walking or running? You’ll love virtual races.
Most of them aren’t races, per se. But, they will encourage you to get your butt outside and walk or run and get in the miles this summer. That’s how I started committing to jogging, actually. Back in 2016, I signed up for the Run Disney summer virtual 5ks. I had to complete three 5ks and then I’d earn the medals at the end of August.
It was so much fun.
The first 5k I walked, and took my sweet time. But I really enjoyed the distance. The next one, I decided to jog part of it, since I wanted to run a 10k later in the year. So, I started training and walked/jogged the next two 5ks and had a blast. They weren’t timed, so there was no pressure, but I had a real sense of accomplishment after finishing them because I knew I was holding up my end of the honor system.
This year, I signed Hubby and I up for the same race series to keep us moving throughout summer. We’ve completed one so far, and will probably do the second one this weekend or next. They’re so much fun! Last year, I completed a 113.2 mile virtual race on the Pacific Coast Highway hosted by Yes Fit. Each time I passed a mile marker I’d get an email with highlights of what was in the area and a Google Maps view of where I was in my race. It was pretty cool, and definitely motivation to keep logging miles, whether I walked or ran.
If you want to give it a go, there are plenty of virtual races out there – some are for charity, some just for fun – you just pick the one you’re comfortable with that speaks to you, and you’re off. I like the Disney ones because I’m huge Disney fan and the medals are super fancy Disney-themed medals. But, there are plenty of virtual races to choose from. Here are a few to look into, if you’ve got the courage to do it this summer:
https://yes.fit/races This is the online race company that hosted my PCH race and I enjoyed it. They have a full lineup right now, including a Route 66-themed virtual race, Dublin Pub Crawl, and Peter Pan-themed 18 miler.
https://www.virtualrunningclub.com/ I’ve always wanted to try one of Virtual Running Club’s races. They look well put together and have good themes. I mean, it’s really about the theme, right? One of their upcoming races is the Ratification Race, celebrating women getting the right to vote.
http://calicoracing.com/events/et-full-moon/ Las Vegas favorite Calico Racing has added a virtual option to its popular evening race, the ET Full Moon event. If you’re looking for a fun option to get you started, this could be a good way to go while supporting a local race company from Las Vegas.