The Growing Trend of Virtual Races
With virtual races on the rise, Laura Cummings takes a look at this growing trend in running.
The Growing Trend of Virtual Races
https://contoursrun.co.uk/virtual-races-a-growing-trend
About a year ago, I discovered virtual running races. I found a website which offered races, in which you sign up and pick a race, run it in your own time and upload evidence that you have run it (i.e. via the Strava running app) and you receive a medal, which you have paid for on signing up. The point is to be able to run in your own time, with no pressure of an organised, large scale event, and also the medals you can choose from represent different charities – so part of your payment goes towards a certain charity. I love this idea and I think it is something which is really taking off. The website I joined is called MedalMad and it has grown significantly in this time; their list of races to choose from is ever expanding. There are now a large number of similar sites offering virtual challenges.
So in this post, I want to look at the pros and cons of virtual races and whether this will continue to be a popular way of racing.
All in all, I think these virtual races are a fantastic way to motivate people into being active, as they are not just about running. They can help people to gain confidence and inspire people to take on more challenges, push distances and push themselves. I am a big fan of adding a virtual race to my running year; it’s for a good cause and helps to mix up the race events I take part in… the shiny new medal also helps!