Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Gone for a Run virtual race, but was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own. There are also affiliate links below, which means I might make a commission if you buy something.
I love a good virtual race. In fact, for my 40th birthday, I organized my own Mama Goes Masters virtual. So, I was totally into running the All 4 Run.
One problem: my shortest run these days is 6 miles and most of my miles are far from race pace.
That’s ok. The beauty of a virtual race is you can run it when and how you want. Since I wanted to be at least a bit on the speedy side, I ran it as part of my speed work last week.
All 4 Run Virtual Race
July 4, 2015
39:42
Temp: 75* with 82% humidity
What I wore: hat, tank top, Skirt Sports Happy Hour skirt,
PROCompression socks, and my Altra One^2
To get my four miles, I decided to run as many of my 8 x 600s with recovery as I could. That worked out to be 6 of the 8 intervals.
The good:
- The organization was great: on time start, plenty of water/Gatorade stops, plenty of food at the end.
- I hit my splits for every single 600.
- The course was only a half mile from my house.
- It was the perfect number of people – not too crowded, but I saw plenty of dog walkers and neighbors while I ran.
- That I got a good workout in before the pouring rain and lightning.
- The magnet that came as part of the race swag.
The bad:
- The course had some crazy rolling hills. I was pretty much never running on the flat.
The ugly:
- It was so humid I could barely breathe.
- I was absolutely drenched when I got done – and the rain didn’t start until later.
Would I do it again?
Sure! I like the tank top and am kind of psyched to actually have a shirt in patriotic colors for future races. The medal is super nice and the magnet is awesome! The race director needs to work on the course as it was boring and hilly, but since I was the race director, I have no one to blame but myself.
[Tweet “Have you done a virtual race? Check out this fun one from @GoneforaRUNcom! #ad #runchat”]
Have you run a virtual race? Do you enjoy them or think that there is no real point to them?
I love the idea of the virtual races.
WALKS.
Now I need to just pull the proverbial trigger and COMMIT TO ONE.
Good idea to incorporate your speed work into this race. I still prefer the real thing over virtual races.
Mama Goes Masters is such a good name for a 40th birthday race celebration! 🙂 And that swag is so good!
I’ve only run one virtual race. I found it kind of a chore (have to remember to do these OTHER things than just getting ready for the run), so I’ve never tried again. I like online training groups, but haven’t quite figured out why i’d do this for a 5K/ shorter event, and just for an event.
The singlet is really cute. Some races are worth doing just for the swag even if you know the director is clueless at setting kind courses.
I have not done a virtual race. That is such a cute tank top. If I had paid attention, I could have one too! Boo for me.
I did the first two in the series and really like the shirts that came with them and the bling is fun too 🙂
great job! Love the race bling, especially that shirt.
I came THISCLOSE to registering for this one but opted to just buy the patriotic tall socks instead. lol (BTW, when I bought the socks, that magnet was offered as an add-on for $1. I totally bought it.) I do enjoy a virtual race every now and then, but I’ve never paid for one. I’ve only participated in a few blogger-organized ones.