My RunDisney Virtual Run Medals Arrived!

And they are pretty!!! RunDisney even sends their medals in pretty boxes!

 I don’t allow myself to take them out of the box until I have earned them, but they are so pretty, and I am excited to eventually put them on my wall.

What exactly is a “virtual run”?

I know, it sounds really silly. I should probably explain what I mean when I describe a virtual race or a virtual run. These are real things, and they gained in popularity during the Covid Pandemic. They existed beforehand too. There are virtual running organizations worldwide, and with a quick Google search, you can find a virtual race that suits pretty much any interest out there!

A virtual race is a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Ultramarathon, or any other distance a runner might conceivably choose to run, but you do it on your own time on your own course. So, instead of getting up at the buttcrack of dawn and driving to wherever the race is, dealing with corrals and port-a-potties, parking, and trying to figure out what the heck to do with your sweatshirt when it’s cold at the starting line but warm as soon as you start moving, you simply lace up your shoes and leave from wherever you choose to go. Maybe you leave from your front door. Maybe you run in your favorite park. Or maybe you go to the gym and motivate yourself by running on the treadmill and admiring the hot trainer. I’m not judging; nor am I admitting anything today!

Dogs are always allowed on a virtual run, if your dogs are good running buddies, as are kids, spouses, friends, or enemies. The main benefit is that you do it on your time, your way. Also, in a global pandemic, when everything else is canceled, a virtual race is a great way to continue doing something (anything!) toward being active and feeling like you’re still running.

There are some major downsides though. I find extra energy and excitement in a crowd, and I don’t mind the early morning race times. The race jitters are a shot of energy and excitement for me, and frequently they lead to better race times. I love the comraderie you feel with other people at races, and because I’m my father’s daughter, I tend to make friends wherever I go. I’m still Facebook friends with several people I met at races years ago, and I still talk to them regularly, even though we haven’t seen each other since. It’s a special kind of kinship that doesn’t develop as easily in a virtual setting.

So… what’s the point?

Even though I don’t love them as much as in person events, I still see a very definite purpose to virtual races. These things are great for training, especially when I am struggling. All of my RunDisney virtual races this year are 5Ks, which are a great starting point for longer races. I don’t allow myself to take medals out of their envelopes or boxes until I earn them, and I find pretty medals to be a motivator. (Some people like shirts or other knick-knacks, but apparently I’m Gold Medal Barbie. Please don’t judge!)

What About Accountability?

That varies by the race. Some virtual running organizations require proof, like a submitting mileage from an app. Some work through an app. Some require you to submit a time. Some work on Scout’s Honor (which is basically just trusting you to actually earn your miles because you said you did). All of them are different. RunDisney is more of a Scout’s Honor shop, so, if you’re anything like me, it’s pretty easy to forget you even signed up for the race and then to be pleasantly surprised when the medals actually arrive!

That accountability piece is why I don’t allow myself to take the medals out of their box until I have actually completed the distance. I can’t have my Pretty Shiny Thing until I have earned it, and then it’s all mine to admire and enjoy.

Once I found a series of medals from the movie The Princess Bride, which is only one of the best movies of all time. The medals increased from a 5K to a 10K race, 1K at a time. I used those to increase my running distance each week as I was training for a half marathon. Truly, that series of medals was inconceivably good.

I had fun storming the castle, and of course I lived happily ever after.

Virtual RunDisney During Covid

During Covid, RunDisney did the last Star Wars Half Marathon Series as a completely virtual race. I’m a huge Star Wars nerd, so of course those had to be in my collection, virtual or not! I signed up for the entire challenge series to get the full set.

However, 2021 was a weird year. I was working from home, had just started homeschooling, was waiting on gallbladder surgery, and the Hubs had just started a new job. (See? Weird year.) But, since I wasn’t wasting my life in my car commuting every day, and as long as I was careful with my diet, I could jump on the treadmill and get in miles every day. I kept track of my miles on a spreadsheet (NERD ALERT!) and completed every one.

Before my gallbladder surgery, I had run all 22.4 miles to earn the 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, and challenge medals, even with a useless sack of rocks in my belly (AKA gallstones) and the world going nuts!

Even though I have run several in-person half-marathons, and even though this one had to be broken up into multiple smaller distances, I have to say this is one of the medal sets I am proudest to have earned. Sometimes the ones that you earn when it’s most challenging mean the most, and this was one of those.