The Enmarket Savannah River Bridge Run offered a virtual option this year, so I decided to try it out. Normally I choose a 5K but since I could not compete for an age group medal virtually, I went with the "Double Pump" which is a 15K. The signup and guidance for the race is well made and has answers to any questions you may have before or during the race. And the results upload is one of the best, simply enter your basic information and race info along with a screenshot of the run tracked from a device of your choosing and your done! Very simple and very easy to complete without any app or device specific tools needed.
As with all virtual races, the course and effort put in is all up to you. Since it is much colder now and my run area is very hilling I approached this with a pace I could keep up for the duration of the race and not burn out or aim for a PR. If there is one thing 2020 taught me, it's that my endurance for hills has gradually increased. They sent the swag and such out this week, so I'm very excited to see the medal and what else comes with it. Since I am in Georgia, I'd love to do this race in the future and make a trip out of going to the beautiful city of Savannah.

This is an amazing race! The Texas Distance Challenges offers a variety of choices from different run distances, to cycling, to monthly run distances "Detours". I signed up for the Detours, which consists of a one monthly run distance for you to complete that can be done any time before the race ends in April. Each month you get an email with the distance, where it is located in Texas, and links and blogs about that area. Through the blog and links I found out about many small businesses in Texas and areas I never knew about. It's a great way to explore an unfamiliar area without leaving your home. The monthly runs are around 3 miles to 6 miles and anything in between, this is great as you can knock out your monthly Detour without being worn out or making a large impact to your training.
Once you complete a detour, you can log in and manually enter your time and date or link your strava and select the run you want to sync. It's very user friendly and easy to do, which does result in you receiving a decal for each of the Detours you complete! I can't wait to complete more as the race winds down in the Spring of 2021.

Virtual races are often about how much you put in, I often build up to a date a set for myself so I can really push myself and this race was no different. Shortly after you sign up, you'll be shipped all the swag with the race. The swag is pretty great, the shirt is a nice long sleeve hooded shirt which is a super comfortable. You also get a nice metal tumbler in the aqua color along with the scooby-doo logo that is a great size and light weight. Besides the swag, there is a Scooby-Doo medal! I like a race that sends you all the swag and medal before the race so that you can celebrate your run with the medal as soon as you want. This also means you don't have to wait for your swag to come after you register your time. Speaking of, it is super easy to login and manually enter your time for the distance you choose. I chose the 10K race but they offer a 5K if you want something shorter and since it is virtual, you can run the race at any time with your pet or anyway you want. I recommend this race as not only does the organizer keep the race interesting with their social media but they also are giving back by donating to St Jude Children Hospital.

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.