A few years ago when I trained for a spring half marathon my training plan called for a tune up 5K race in January. In my part of the country there were no 5Ks on offer in January, probably because the weather is pretty iffy. I mentioned to a friend that I was considering a race being run by a local running store on the weekend of the Super Bowl, the course was laps around the mall parking lot, with a football theme. My friend recoiled and said “that sounds terrible, please don’t do that, I’ll run with you.” I took up my far faster friend on the offer, he paced for me, we invited a dozen other people to run with us, I ran a personal best 5K time, and my love of the virtual race was born.
Turkey Trotting, solo.
Many springs I’ve asked that group to join me for a tune up “race.” Last year I was registered for a couple races that converted to virtual, and this year I’m training for a solo spring half marathon. I have some experience honestly enjoying a virtual race, and I’m happy to share some free advice.
First, the up-side. When you decide to run a virtual race, you get to be the race director. You can pick a date that works for you. I like to pick a weekend. If the weather on one day is particularly terrible, you can just run the other day. You also get to to pick a start time that works for your personal sleep scheduled. You can’t be late, the race starts when you show up. If you run by yourself, the odds are pretty good you will win the race. You get to hire the race photographer (I choose my husband) so the pictures will all be of you, and if any are unflattering you can delete them. You also get to pick the pre and post race snacks. Only your favorites!
On the other hand, you are the race director. You have some planning to do. I like to plan a race that will be special, instead of a normal run. I like race day to be a date with myself to try to be my best running self, so I like to set plan something to be excited about.
I like to pick a course that does not start at my house. I do my normal runs from my house, so on race day I like to drive somewhere else. I am lucky to have a great Rails to Trails route pretty close to my house, and they have a parking lot and public bathroom. It’s a great place for a start/finish line. My advice is to plan in advance where you’ll park, and where you might find a bathroom.
For my big goal races, my husband comes to cheer me on. For tune up races he promises to watch my tracking and cheer me on from home. When he comes with me we say the Pledge of Allegiance before I start the race. I’ve thought about playing a recording of the Star Spangled Banner. In some way, recreate that tradition that reminds you it’s race time.
One of my races last year that changed to virtual sent us a racing bib to print out. I thought it would be pretty silly to run on by myself wearing a bib, but my husband/photographer thought it would be better for the photos so I wore it. I’m so glad that I did! People on the Rails to Trails path could see that I wasn’t going to slow down, and some very kind souls cheered me on! That did make me feel more race-y. I saw several people last year running virtual marathons and I gave them a big cheer too. If you see people virtual racing, definitely root them on. Also, wear a bib, it’s fun. I mocked up this one for a recent race (this clip art looks just like my dog). Feel free to edit, print and race.
You won’t have smiling volunteers so you’ll have to carry your fluids and calories. For a virtual marathon I used the Nathan Speed Draw Plus to carry water. I knew I couldn’t carry enough water for the whole race at once, so my husband and I worked out in advance where we would hand off refilled bottles. I carried a pile of Gu packets with me. I forgot that since there were no water stations on my marathon route, there would also not be trash cans every couple miles. I put the empty (and very sticky) Gu packets in the zipper pocket of the water bottles (don’t litter). They cleaned up just fine. I also did not think about the toll that holding those water bottles for a marathon would take on my arms (though I had practiced with them on some long runs). My arms were a little sore the day after race day. I’ve also run a couple virtual races using a hydration vest, that’s what I plan to do for my next half marathon.
When you run a virtual race, it’s really more of a time trial. You can focus on running the best time you are capable of on the day. You don’t have to lose time zig-zagging around slower people at the start, and you won’t get bogged down by a crowd at a water station. There probably won’t be random strangers cheering for you while you’re running. If that is an important part of the race experience for you, think about recruiting someone to be at the finish. My husband isn’t a runner and my times really mean nothing to him, but during my race I sometimes think I should dig deep to impress him with my fast time.
I use a Garmin running watch and set up a workout of the precise distance I’m running, so that I won’t have to watch the distance like a hawk. When I’m really on top of things I add a lap reminder at the halfway point, so I know when to turn around. It’s also a good idea to research the distance using Google Earth to get an idea where the turn around will be.
Fourth of July virtual racing. Bib, check. Shirt, check.
Race swag. This can be key. If you are like me, and you treasure race shirts, I have great news. If you choose your own race shirt you won’t end up throwing it in the donation pile before you wear it. Since a virtual race has no race fee, I take the chance to splurge on something I wouldn’t normally buy for myself. I was really looking forward to a Fourth of July 10K, so when the virtual version didn’t offer a shirt I bought a holiday themed running tank top. For my next half marathon, I have my eye on this sweatshirt from Sarah Marie Designs. If a medal is important to you, you can pay to run a race as a virtual runner. Most major races are offering a virtual option that includes a medal, and there are a virtual racing companies set up to get you a medal and other race swag. I have a rack for my medals next to my treadmill, but I don’t mind not getting a medal for a virtual race. As long as I get a banana, it feels like a race to me.