What It Was Like Running A Virtual Half Marathon
Hey y'all! I hope y'all are doing well and staying safe and healthy at home! My half marathon series on YouTube has officially come to a close with this last episode. It was super cool to share with y'all all the different things that go into running a half marathon and what it ultimately all looks like. Unfortunately, because of the climate with everything going on my race was cancelled, but that didn't stop Run Project from still providing a virtual option so we could still run the race. In this very last episode I am taking y'all through what it was like to run a virtual half marathon and how it was put on along with my experience with a regular half marathon.
It is extremely common for runners right now, if they were signed up for a race, to have their race be cancelled. Now not every race is providing a virtual option that allows people to get to run their race even though they aren't in the race environment.
If you missed any of my Half Marathon Series episodes, you can find them all right down below:
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HOW RUN PROJECT DID IT
Run Project is the company that put the race together. When all of this pandemic stuff hit, they were constantly keeping us updated with if the race was going to be cancelled or not. When they finally made the decision to cancel the race they gave us 3 different options. We could run the race virtually, donate what we paid to run the race to the charity they work with, or transfer it to next years race. I ultimately decided to just run it virtually because I did not want to transfer it to next year and not be able to do it.
About a week beforehand, Run Project sent us an email with all of the instructions and schedule for how the virtual race was going to happen. They even did the National Anthem like they do before every race on Facebook Live. It was really cool to be apart of. They also sent us our smaller race packets that had our bibs, our t-shirt, and a few other sponsored items inside, like we would have gotten when we picked up our packets.
The coolest thing out of all of it for me was that they set up pace groups that you could join in on if you wanted to. Never EVER did I think that a virtual run would include pace groups! Down below are the emails they sent us so y'all can get a better idea as to how they set everything up and how it all worked.
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO RUN A VIRTUAL HALF MARATHON
I got a lot of questions afterwards if I liked doing a virtual half marathon. It wasn't bad but would I do it again, no. I love the environment of a race and love getting to be around other people and have that wired feeling. Doing it virtually meant that I had to plan out my own race course and I didn't have as many people cheering me on and pumping me up like I would have during a regular race. Thats not a deal breaker for me but I will say that the hardest part was coming up with my own course. You don't realize how hard it is to come up with a race course until you have to do it yourself.
I was extremely happy and grateful that I still got the experience because it gave me a starting place on my times and how I want to get back into running. You know it had been 4 years since my last half marathon and a lot of things have changed, so this was a great place to start to get back into it and really be able to figure out where my body is and what I need to work on.
I want to say a huge thank you to Run Project for still putting this virtual race on so we could still get our race in. I also want to thank all of you that have followed along in my half marathon series on YouTube and have responded. That is what keeps me going and what keeps me wanting to create more. I also want to say a huge thank you for my friends and family who have been supporting me as I have gone through training and all the aches and pains to keep me going and feeling motivated!
If you ran your own virtual half marathon or marathon I want to hear about it and how it went for y'all!
As always, thank y'all for stopping by and reading and watching! I will see y'all back here next time!
Love, Dani
