Happy Monday everyone! A little while back, in
this blog post, I mentioned that I was participating in a virtual run through
Yes Fit. They are a website that hold a variety of different virtual runs. They are all different distances and only 25$. You can run the distance all at once or at different times, and at whatever pace you would like. I signed up for the A
lice in Wonderland 22.4 mile run. I completed it in a little under two weeks and synced my running watch to the website so that each time I went for a run it went to the site and tracked my miles. This website is super cool because they send you emails once you reach certain "mile markers" and send you google map images of where you are on the race "route" through wherever your race is held. The Alice in Wonderland race takes you through Oxford and around the Thames River where Alice in Wonderland was first created. I received emails of pictures where I am on the route and encouraging me to keep going. Once I finished the 22.4 miles, I immediately received an email with the tracking number for my medal. It was all very organized and efficient which I was very impressed with.
So now that you all know how it works, I will give you some overall thoughts I had about the whole virtual race thing.
First, I would say that I liked the idea of a virtual run because it keeps you motivated to run. It gives you a reason to push yourself, because the faster you run those miles, the faster you get your medal. I like having something to work for. After the
Disney Princess 10K I really didn't feel like running because I had worked and trained for a year to build up a fast pace and distance for that race that once it was over I was feeling burned out. I signed up for this Alice in Wonderland virtual race so that I can stay motivated and not loose my pace and stamina. It worked too! I loved having something to work toward.
The one thing about virtual runs, especially Yes Fit that I would say I don't really like is that the distances are so long that I couldn't possibly run it all in one day. Therefore, I had no choice but to split it up between multiple days and run the miles when I had time. This almost made it feel like I was just getting a medal for doing what I would do normally anyways. Now granted, I did earn the medal because I did run the distance, and it forced me to push myself, but it didn't feel as good as if I had just ran a 5k distance all at once and then received a medal. Disney virtual races I have heard are more like that but I can't speak from experience on that one. The registration for the Disney Virtual races open tomorrow at noon! I won't be participating because it is a tad too expensive in my opinion considering it is just a virtual run, but to each their own.
To sum it all up, the pros of Yes Fit races are that they are an easy way to stay motivated and push yourself, the medal is beautiful, it is only 25$, and they are super quick and efficient. The only con is that the distances are super long and it can sometimes be a pain to drag it out so long.
I hope this was interesting for some of you, and that you will be inspired to sign up for a virtual run yourself. Yes Fit has a ton of themed races so you have plenty of choices :) Have a great weekend!
xoxo