Fit Five Friday – Virtual Events

Welcome to the Fit Five Friday

It’s a brand new link up with FIVE amazing hosts – me, My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude,Runs with Pugs, Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Ready for some fun?

Virtual Events – yea or nay?

Even though we made it through The Year Of Corona, we are not out of the woods yet. That means for many of us, our racing calendar is empty and our travel schedule for racecations completely non-existent. So what’s a runner to do?

In my case I did only one event last year (thanks to Kim) that I actually paid for, the Quad-City Times Bix 7 and one free event at the end of the year, the NN Running Day Christmas Edition. Since almost all event went virtual last year, and I was injured anyway, these events did not interest me at all.

Pay to run at home for a race somewhere else?

That’s where I was at last year. And still kind of am this year. However, I’m more open to it now.

Five Virtual Events You Can Sign Up For Right Now

1) Virtual Running Events

Through Virtual Running Events you can sign up for one race, one challenge or several. They have a lot to choose from AND… each race you participate in benefits a different charity. You can see the list of charities they support here.

Dinosaurs! Series

Unfortunately if you wanted the whole series, you’ve missed January already but this is a fun idea not only if you love Dinosaurs but also to get your family involved (especially kids!). You can run 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and more, it’s your choice!

2) Run Rock’n’Roll

I’m no longer repping Rock’n’Roll Marathons these days but I did notice they had a Virtual Running Club that you can join AND earn some sweet virtual bling along the way.

What runners out there don’t love swag, bling, community support and added challenges throughout the year? Run Rock’n’Roll is doing their best to keep you motivated!

RNRVR4

This fun challenge gets you 3 badges – run a 5K and a 12K in the weekend and get the remix! This one is in May, so would be a nice one to train for if you have less mileage under your belt like I do.

Plenty of other challenges on the Virtual Run Club for you to choose from as well!

3) The Conqueror

The Challenges from The Conqueror certainly appeal to those of us who like to travel. They have SO many to choose from as well! Want to run from England to France? How about in the Grand Canyon? Always wanted to experience the Camino del Santiago? Now is your chance!

With The Conqueror you get virtual postcards and street view so you can actually get as close to the location without needing a negative PCR Test to get on a plane. Oh, and there is bling to boot! At The Conqueror, any distance based exercise is valid towards the goal, so, biking, swimming, running, walking – all towards the distance you sign up for.

Conquer Mount Fuji

4) Gone For a Run

Gone for a Run is another organisation where your fees actually go towards charity. I’m down with any race or organisation who are also trying to do good in the world. We need more good!

Gone for a Run has plenty of challenges to choose from. Maybe you want to run 2021 miles in 2021? Or you just want to work up to a Half Marathon?

Five Cities Challenge

Of course the 5 cities challenge appeals to me the most and I think if I did something like this, I’d try to find a friend to join me in each of the cities that are represented. Could be fun, no? Included are the medals, a bib and you add swag for an additional cost.

5) Virtual Runners

Virtual Runners caught my eye the other day (thanks Facebook ads) so I had to check out what they had on offer. Here you can also choose your distance, print your bib and can even add swag to your registration. Earn your bling anywhere and be a part of the growing community!

The ad that caught my eye was for the Paris — Feel the Spring run but after looking on the site, this one could be fun too:

Exotic Shanghai Marathon

This event takes place on February 13th, where you are literally running into the Chinese New Year!

Still on the Fence

At the end of the day, you are still paying an organisation to run somewhere near your home, possibly alone and without any of the race day atmosphere that most of us love (and even need to get through a longer event, like a half or full marathon). On the other hand, signing up and becoming a part of a specific community for these events can really help with motivation. So What’s a runner to do?

What’s your verdict?

Are you running events virtually this year? Which ones? How did you find out about their virtual event – were you already signed up for the live event and it was cancelled?

So far I’ve done two events with NN Running Day (and signed up for a third – The Valentine’s Edition) and I’m doing the Illinois Marathon’s Criss-Cross Virtual Challenge currently (goes until May 1st). The jury is out as to whether I’ll do other events.

Would you do any of the events I’ve mentioned? Why or why not?

Disclaimer: I’m not an ambassador for any of the events listed, nor do I receive any compensation in any form from these organisations. I’m just a girl, with blog, asking the internet to inspire me.

Join the Fit Five Friday Link-up!

Here are the guidelines:

• Your link should center around some kind of fitness (exercise, wellness, mental health, nutrition… the possibilities are endless!)
• Please link back to your hosts! It’s the right thing to do! 
• Share the link-up love by visiting and commenting on your hosts and at least two other Fit Five Friday bloggers!
• Feel free to share about Fit Five Friday on your social media! Tag #FitFiveFriday to get the word out!

The Runfessional Is Also Open

Every month Marcia opens the runfessional – a place to let it all out and cleanse your soles; if you are needing to release some sweaty secrets or just want to get things off your chest, here’s the place to do it!