Since virtual races and virtual running events are a relatively new concept, the standards for what is expected are still in development in my opinion. Early virtual running events seemed to be more or less a process of reporting your finishing time and awaiting for your swag to arrive in the mail. As this race format has become a more common replacement with in real life races being cancelled due to COVID, the expected standards are being raised. I believe that even when our norm of in real life racing returns, a number of virtual events will remain. Most likely the ones that raised the bar for what runners expect out of a virtual running event. I won't be surprised if the California Coast 500 is one of the virtual events that remains popular even when actual in person racing returns.

The California Coast 500 did so much right and provided a well organized, engaging, and fun event. The communication from the race was great from registration through the finish. Online support for the single problem I had with my runs syncing was super responsive and resolved the issue quickly. The event kept participants engaged through weekly challenges, prizes, and my personal favorite, the chase pack which pitted participants against some well known and extremely accomplished ultrarunners. Having all of your mileage sync automatically and being able to track your and the other runners' progress on the map across California was really cool also.

Read my full review of the race at https://www.beastcoasttrailrunning.com/2020/08/using-california-coast-500-virtual.html