Anne
- Mar 19, 2020
- 3 min read

Virtual Race Round Up

Updated: Apr 17, 2020

All of us have been impacted in one way or another by COVID-19. I have been trying to stay positive, but there have been moments I can not seem to shake the dark cloud that is looming over. I know that running and training is not the most important thing in life and this circumstance has certainly put that in perspective. At the same time, I know in the past when I have been going through a particularly trying time in life, having something to focus on, like training for a race, helps me mentally and emotionally. Taking an hour or 90 minutes of the day to pour myself into training, that is unrelated to the very real, very trying situation I am walking through, gives me more energy and stamina to face that bigger challenge.

With that in mind and with the help of my coach, I am going to continue to train during this time (in a safe way). I will pick a goal and work toward that even if the "race" is just me alone on the road.

I have had success doing this in the past. Last fall I ended up doing a time trial to test my 10k fitness because the 10k race I trained for and ran, marked the course almost a half mile long and ended up being half gravel, half road. I had completed a 8 week, 10k specific training block and was hoping to set a new personal best time, but the race course had other plans. I could not find another 10k to jump into the weeks following my goal race, so my coach suggested I run a 10k on the track as a time trial. That way he could still assess the fitness I gained. Running a 10k on the track seemed daunting when he first recommended the time trial, but I went for it and it went great. My time goal had been to break 40 minutes in the 10k and I ended up running 38:08 that day!

All to be said, time trials or virtual races can serve a great purpose at the end of a training block. My coach was able to asses the fitness I gained during the fall and built me a great training plan for the LA Marathon.

There quite a few virtual races popping up that could be great goals to set during this time. I round some up and listed them here so you don't have to jump all over the internet.

Stay healthy!

Races For Free:

Name of Race: Rambling Runner Virtual Race Series

Date: 3/27-29/2020 (5k), 4/3-5/2020 (10k), 4/17-19/202 (13.1), 5/15-17/2020 (26.2)

Distance: 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Marathon (See Above)

Where: Anywhere, No Treadmills

Link to Register: https://www.theramblingrunner.com/virtualraceseries

IG: https://instagram.com/rambling_runner?igshid=1vdmjumdf2zow

Name of Race: Lemonade Run

Date: 4/18-20/2020

Distance: 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Marathon

Where: Anywhere, No Treadmills