BLING.
I love shiny things. I love medals. I know that I could just buy myself some medals and be done but it's not the same. I want the glory that goes along with the bling.
The problem is that it gets expensive to register for all of these races and then travel to them. I also can't request all of these weekends off from work. That's when an amazing thing happened. Someone told me about Virtual Races.
I was hooked.
A virtual race is a "race" that you get to run on your own time, at your own location. Sometimes there are specific dates or a date range that gives you time to finish it, but all of the ones I have done allow you to finish using your own goals.
The distance for the race can vary. Some are 5k, 10k, 13.1 miles or 26.2 miles. Some don't have a set distance. Some you pick your distance when you sign up, others you don't have to tell them anything.
Cost for virtual races can vary significantly. I only sign up for the ones with medals. I pick and choose based on two criteria.
#1 - the medal design. It has to be awesome. Has to be something that I wouldn't get if I signed up for a local race.
#2 - the charity. Yes, you read that right, the charity. A LOT of virtual races are started as a way to raise money for charities. I've signed up for a few that were organized by individuals trying to raise the money for their charity sponsorship of a "real" race they were doing. I've also signed up for a few that just take part of the proceeds and donate them to a charity that I care about like the American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald House, or Make a Wish Foundation.
I recently signed up for a super cool race series by donating to Saint Jude's Children's Hospital in honor of someone who is signed up as a charity racer for them. Are you ready to see the medals I will be receiving? I don't think you're ready...
It's the Frozen for Cures Virtual Race Series. By signing up for the full series I got a bonus medal. I am SO excited about this. You can sign up by visiting THIS LINK. It's for a great cause.
The organizer of this series has another series going as well. I know there are a lot of you who will appreciate this one. It's the Magical Friendship Virtual Race Series. You can register HERE and you'll get these amazing medals. Look how they all connect when you register for the full series!
I have signed up for several other virtual races and I will post photos and links for them once I've completed my goal distance for each.
I have found that signing up for virtual runs helps me get motivated for my training for my "actual" races that I have coming up.
Do you run for bling? What's your favorite medal in your collection?
This is such a awesome blog. Keep up your great work and passion for running earning great Bling, and support of those charities.
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