I ran this race virtually but was joined by a few friends. When I arrived my friend's house a 9 am on race day, unfortunately, it was raining. Fortunately, it was a Virtual Race, so that meant that we could wait for the rain to pass a bit before starting. Score another point for Virtual Races! Weather not cooperating, no problem, just wait a bit. After about 45 minutes, the rain had stopped and we decided it was go time.

#TeamRalphie (2 of us) were running it and the other 2 were doing the Elf Virtual Run for #TeamBuddy and were walking it. With routes in hand and after a quick Start Line group photo, we were off.

I wasn't expecting too much out of my 5K since I still haven't recovered my speed from my knee surgery, but I felt pretty good so I decided to push it a bit. It helped having someone with me for the first mile to provide that bit of competitive push. We hit a decent hill and I heard her tell me to keep going so I did, realizing that if I could keep my pace right about where I was, I had a good chance at breaking a 30 minute 5K for the first time since my surgery, despite the hilly route. The course was very straightforward and Kim's directions were perfect. I finished the 5K and was thrilled with my 29:02 time.

After we finished our miles, we went back to my friend's house to put on our finisher swag sweatshirts and show off our medals. The SWAG was top notch- a nice, thick zippered sweatshirt with zip pockets, a knit beanie and nice medal. We also received personalized Bibs with individual numbers and our names. Seriously worth the entry fee and then some. It all arrived before the event which meant instant gratification, just like an in-person race. Some Virtuals don't sent out until after race day. We received lots of emails ahead of time for the race including updates on when our stuff shipped.

After the race, you could upload your time and finisher photos online. There were even fun downloads. After the race, my friends and I watched the movies that inspired our races and had some holiday fun. Virtual races are as fun as you make them and give you a chance to be creative, so I love it when the themes are fun like this one was!