This was my first long distance virtual run I have ever done, I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew it would be a new type of challenge for me to attempt. From June through September you can compete in variety of distances from 100 miles up to 500 miles, which can be completed by yourself or even with a team.
I made a schedule to run 45min each day during my lunch hour since I am currently working at home. I did not set a distance goal, just the time limit. This gave me a pretty good base as I average around 3 and half miles or so each day. I also walked in the evening so I built a pretty good pattern of averaging 5 to 6 miles a day. At first I thought this would not be enough but by the time it got to be mid-August I was already over 400 miles. This race definitely kept me accountable with my running which was great for me mentally and physically as I have not focused too much on running without the normal race schedule. To help keep you going, Run Local (the race event coordinator) sends out weekly challenges that you are automatically a part of. These weekly challenge email also have great things to check out in the part of California you are running by. They have a website that you can manually added your mileage to or sync to. I tracked my daily mileage with my Garmin and uploaded each day. You can added your mileage daily or you can go back and add the data later. This is good if you don’t keep up with it daily and can go back and add all the information weekly or even monthly. On the tracking website is also a map of the course up California that track not only where you but also where you are as a team if you are a part of the team. I checked this map a lot as it was great to see where you are and when you reach certain milestones you get an email about where you currently are and what there is to do in see in that city of California.
I loved the tracking on the map and the emails, they really make you feel like you are a part of a large race and they did a great job of keeping you up to date on where the fastest runners are and teams. You also get to see how the handmade medals were designed and built. I’m very excited to receive my medal, they look amazing! If you want to have a race that will help you keep a run schedule and dedicated to keeping up with your health, this is a great race for you! With all the distances and team settings, I cant recommend this race enough.