One of these years, I'd love to challenge myself with a race in hilly Roanoke, VA, but this was not that year. Instead, I ran the Blue Ridge Half Marathon in my neighborhood as a VIRTUAL participant.

Full disclosure: When I registered, I didn’t realize there was an elevation requirement. But, because #BlueRidgeMarathon is know for its challenging hills, race organizers required 1,850 feet of elevation for the half marathon. In fact, they’re slogan (which I love) is “Be The Goat”

The Virtual Half had two requirements:
• Run 13.1 miles
• Get 1,850′ in elevation gain

I live in flat Florida, so the biggest challenge was finding elevation. Sure, there are bridges and multi-story parking lots that offer gains. But, I needed to race on Easter weekend and stay close to home. ​That meant I had to run hill repeats (27 of them!) to meet the elevation requirement. But, my mission was accomplished with a serious sense of satisfaction! I was a happy runner.

One thing that made this virtual race tons of fun was participating in a virtual relay with my Bib Rave Pro teammates. ​We roughed out a schedule, and each team member ran their leg of the overall relay. ​We cheered each other on social media, and handed a virtual baton from one runner to the next until all the miles were run. It was a lot of fun and kept the momentum going throughout the racing period. I think this was a great way to liven up a virtual race.

I can't speak to the Expo or on course details since I ran virtually. Virtual support was fine. There was plenty of info on the website, including a lot of Q & A.

After running anytime between April 1-30, virtual racers could upload their race deets via a fitness app or manually. After entering your results, you could download a finishers certificate and compare your race to others.

This race doesn't reveal it's medal or shirts until the expo, so I was searching online for a sneak peek once race weekend and the expo opened.

I’m expecting my gorgeous iconic and artsy goat half medal to arrive any day. Race management told virtual runners to expect their race packet to arrive in mid-to late May. I'm looking forward to it.

If you want to see the medal and find out how to spice up a virtual race by adding a relay element (so fun!) visit my blog at ThisOldRunner dot com for the full recap!