10k

In this day and age, sometimes it’s hard to push yourself to train and get ready for a 5K, 10K, or longer. Some people don’t want to run or compete or walk with others in a big mob.

Some might not want to worry about times and things like that.

Others could possibly just be looking to get into better shape and be looking for something to push them. Enter the virtual races.

I stumbled upon these via Facebook (one of those sponsored ads) a while back. The virtual races I found were longer (I actually signed up for two of them as I wanted one for walking, and one for biking. Alas, unfortunately, when you log miles, it logs to both, So, from now on if I do it on that site, I’ll only do one at a time).

As I searched for more and more of these as I was interested in what was out there, I found ones set up for specific distances. You enter, pay your fee (which part of goes to charity) and you get a bib/finisher medal. You then upload you time and have it completed.

Pretty cool.

Anyway, the photo you see at the top is the first one I completed. I’m going to definitely finish the other two I have going, and then I am going to watch and join other ones I like the idea of shorter ones as I can start trying to do them all in one set. Maybe down the line I can run them more than walk them. My ultimate goal is to actually run a few of these in the future.

The two big ones I am currently doing are at Make Yes Happen. What’s cool about these two races is that they are longer and they show you virtual stops for your run — photos of the area. So one is 30.3 miles — the Dublin Pub Crawl. Make sure you go check out the medal one gets for finishing that one! I am also doing the Pacific Coast Highway — a 113.2-mile race.

The one above is from Virtual Run Events and they have some really cool ones based by month. There’s a few I want to work on for sure as the summer months come closer. I definitely am looking at doing the events set up for July, August, November, and December.

What I like is you can walk or run. With Make Yes Happen, some allow biking miles, too. It’s nice because you can do them at your own pace, give to charity, and get yourself a finisher medal and a bib (some offer them mailed to you, some are ones you have to print out).

There are plenty of other virtual race spots out there. Just do a quick Google search for “virtual races” and you’ll see. Check them out and maybe there are a few you could do to get moving and exercising. I think it’s the best aspect about it for me — another way to motivate myself to try and and keep getting healthier.

Anybody else do these? If so, what have been some of your favorites?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!