Forums >General Running>Virtual Races. Thumbs up or down?
So I have a few races lined up this month then nothing much until the fall. I was looking online for possible events and noticed a number of Virtual Races. These are the ones where you run a specific distance on your own. If you want, you can pay to have a medal and/or a shirt mailed to you.
Anybody have an opinion on these things? They seem to be growing in popularity. I think they are pretty cool but I have no desire to participate. It would just seem like a glorified training run.
Thanks for your time,
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They are just glorified training runs. First, unless you are running in another race with a certified course, you have no guarantee you are covering the full distance (and no just because your Garmin says 6.2 miles does not mean you ran a 10K). Second, since you are not in a true race situation you are not likely to run as fast as you would when you are actually racing. Third, you are missing out on the excitement of competing against other runners under the same conditions - both weather and course conditions. Finally, would you really pay to have a t-shirt and medal mailed to you. It is just a recognition of your participation (and do you really need them).
Some of these virtual runs are fundraisers for charities. They do it virtually to save the cost of putting on the run and to increase the number of participants. If you really want to support that charity and want to wear a shirt that advertises that charity, then go for it. Otherwise, you can just about always find some race most weekends all summer to run in.
Given that here in New England I have a choice of half a dozen races within an hour or so just about every weekend during the summer, and at least one or two during the winter, I don't see the point. If I lived somewhere with fewer real races available, I imagine they'd be more attractive.
I don't see the point of paying to do a training run. I don't have the money to do many real races, I'm not likely to waste what I have on a virtual race. Besides, there's a reason there aren't many races in my area in the summer: it's too hot and humid to do well.
Basically I say Thumbs Down....the exception was if there was some type of a virtual run to raise money for something like the One Fund or some other legitimate charity then perhaps...
Champions are made when no one is watching
miscreant
lolololololololololol
I'm happy, hope you're happy too...
Some are fundraisers for good causes, which is obviously subjective. But if the cause is something you value, then why not.But a lot of them are just moneymakers... and it is a really lazy business. You charge people 25-50 bucks and mail them a 3 dollar medal. Aside from that, you might print a list online of people's self-recorded times. Not bad work if you can get it.
A lot of people in one of my running clubs (Half Fanatics) seem to dig them. These people are all about the "bling". Hard to put real value on it... some people pay big money for jewelry. Others buy baseball cards. Some folks medals.
KillJoyFuckStick
You laugh but Mike Rossi got into Boston that way.
You people have issues
S Army Kettle run...
Virtual Race ... Was that how Paul Ryan did his sub 3hr marathon?
Tim
Options,Account, Forums
Seems silly, but people do silly things.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
The fact that you would have to pay makes it tough but these online communities, like this forum, can be very motivating. I used to post my daily runs and workouts on a public forum and it really had me working extra hard to post better and better numbers. I've heard of this online community for bicyclists, I think it's called Stravos, where bikers post their best times up and down impossibly hard hills. I heard that the competition was just fierce! In fact, a guy died just trying to improve his speed in a downhill run so he could post it on Stravos.
There's some real powerful psychological forces going on with athletes. You don't always need to see your competition exactly.
Linda
I think virtual runs are mostly silly. I have registered for one. I did it because I wanted to give money to the charity. I would have simply opened my wallet, but, since I'm a runner, and running was an option, I ran. There wasn't a medal at all. I would run another if my goal was simply to give to a particular charity. Otherwise, I just don't get the point. Most races give you a medal for competing. You don't have to place. I have more bling then I can ever know what to do with.
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Some are fundraisers for good causes, which is obviously subjective. But if the cause is something you value, then why not.But a lot of them are just moneymakers... and it is a really lazy business. You charge people 25-50 bucks and mail them a 3 dollar medal. Aside from that, you might print a list online of people's self-recorded times. Not bad work if you can get it. A lot of people in one of my running clubs (Half Fanatics) seem to dig them. These people are all about the "bling". Hard to put real value on it... some people pay big money for jewelry. Others buy baseball cards. Some folks medals.
My email inbox has been inundated with come-ons for virtual races ostensibly for various charities that I have no connection to. The spam is annoying, but when I saw how much they were charging I was appalled. I am also skeptical, to say the least, about how much of the race revenue is directed to these charities, or if these charities are even aware that their names are being used to market these events. Seems like an outright scam.
Only 26.2 miles more to go.
I don't think they're mostly silly - I think they're 100% silly. If you want to donate money to a charity then write a check directly to them. They'll get 100% of it. If you really want to see what you can do in a race then sign up for a race.
Get a free strava account, find some local CRs and try to break them. You just ran a virtual race at no cost.