How I came to know about virtual runs was nothing short of destiny.
One day in 2018, I happened to read this article from The Straits Times which talked about virtual runs. For a start, I had never even heard of this term so I was intrigued by this concept of being able to do something like this — “walk” a marathon at my own time and pace without jostling with others at the break of dawn and yet earn a medal at the end of it.
Back then in school, I was pretty active in leisure sports although I wouldn’t count myself as fit. As working life and other commitments started to take centrestage, it was difficult to stay active in a sedentary office job which came with the need to clock overtime late into the night on a frequent basis. Subsequently, with a number of health scares and injuries, it further limited my ability to do the sports I used to enjoy especially those which were intense and high-impact on the legs and joints. Moreover, certain sports like badminton and tennis required me to book a court or find someone to play with but these facilities were either fully booked or only available at odd timings and I couldn’t always find someone to join me at the last minute.
As such, when I read about virtual runs, this was like the perfect solution for me. Although the term says “run”, you can actually walk briskly or take a stroll at snail pace as long as you complete the required distance which can range from as little as several kilometres, a half or full marathon to even hundreds and thousands of kilometres. Some races have a fixed period which you need to clock the distances by while some allow you to set your race period and there are no limits to the number of times you can submit your distances to meet the requirement. What this means is e.g. for a distance of 42.195km, a person can do it all at one go as a full marathon but another can break this up into 10 or 20 times and still complete the virtual run.
And since this is something I can do at my own time and pace, I don’t have to be conscious about lagging behind others as compared to joining a real race involving many people. For someone who doesn’t like to be in crowds or prefer exercising alone, there is nothing as ideal as this.
The medal at the end of each virtual race is something to look forward to as well. Over the years, the quality and aesthetic appeal of these medals have improved by leaps and bounds, albeit with a corresponding increase in prices. Last but not least, virtual runs are generally cheaper than a physical race so with the same amount of money for a physical race, you can do multiple ones virtually.
And so, I embarked on my journey of virtual runs in October 2018.
This was my very first virtual run medal from the Great Barrier Reef Marathon Virtual Run 2018 organised by 42Race. Since I was trying this new concept for the first time, I wanted to see how it worked and if there were any issues. As for the reason why I chose to go with 42Race, since it was based in Singapore — there was no delivery fee required to receive my medal by post, I didn’t have to worry about foreign exchange rates as compared to signing up with overseas portals or the likelihood of losing my medal in the post. The fact that the race only cost $9.90 then was also a big draw.
However, before you jump into the world of virtual runs, it might be best to take note of the following:
1. Is the distance to be clocked at one go? Or can it be accumulated through multiple attempts?
When I first started on virtual runs, this was more of an issue for shorter distances i.e. 5km and below. If you are the type who can’t clock such long distances at one go, you might want to avoid those which expect you to do so and go for those which allow multiple attempts to chalk up the required distance.
Nowadays, this is not so much of an issue since shorter distance virtual runs also allow multiple attempts. Nonetheless, do read the terms carefully or else you might end up walking for nothing since uncompleted runs will not entitle you to the medal or completion gifts.
2. Time period & date of the virtual run
Especially for themed, branded and special occasion virtual runs, this is something you need to be careful about. For example, if it’s a virtual version of a physical marathon, chances are it will be held on the same day or around the same period as the physical event. Likewise, if it’s a Christmas-themed virtual run, it will definitely happen on Christmas Day itself with a few days before and after it. If you anticipate that you can’t clock the distance during specific periods because you are away on holiday or will be busy with something, you might want to consider skipping that race.
Likewise, some virtual runs take place over specific dates or set a completion deadline so the same rationale applies — if you can’t make it on those dates, don’t do it. However, there are some virtual runs these days which allow you to sign up anytime and finish it by a preset deadline decided by you so this gives you the flexibility in case anything happens during the race period e.g. illness or injury. If you are making good progress, you can even go ahead to finish the race earlier than planned!
Signing up for the correct distance is definitely something to keep in mind when considering the dates and race period. If the distance you have in mind seems unachievable within the preset time period, there is no harm in opting for a shorter distance. In most situations, the same medal will be given (albeit with different distance engravings) anyway. However, in some races, the medal type and colour might be different for various distances so you would also need to consider this.
3. Check your race entitlements before signing up
When I first started, the options for race entitlements were largely restricted to medal-only or medal + race T-shirt/vest. Since I don’t need so many T-shirts, I usually go for the cheapest option i.e. medal-only. Nowadays, there are a lot more choices e.g. sports water bottles, commemorative coins, vouchers and bags but these additional things do come with a price. As such, when signing up for any race, be sure to select the correct option so that you don’t get saddled with a lot of stuff which you don’t want and end up paying more than you intend to.
Upon receipt of your race entitlements, be sure to check that they are in order and not defective. There was a period of time when I kept getting medals with the wrong distance or name engravings, the engravings were so faint that they couldn’t be seen or the medals were cracked or movable parts were broken. The companies would usually have a return policy for defective items but there was once when I got really upset because the second medal sent to me was still defective and it took the third time before the vendor got it right.If the dimensions of the medal or size of the T-shirt/vest are provided, be sure to check these thoroughly as well. There was once when I got a “medal” which turned out to be the size of a coin but there was nothing indicated on the website that it was this small. As such, I felt a bit cheated by that and ever since then, I would scrutinise the dimensions of the medals for subsequent virtual runs. What is portrayed in photos may not be what you get in the end so it’s good to pay attention to this aspect and manage expectations.
4. Choose the right virtual runs
Since there are so many types of virtual runs out there for you to choose from, factors such as distance, time required, cost and the aesthetic appeal of a medal are things you should consider when selecting which run to sign up for. When I first got into virtual runs, I think I must have been too excited and signed up for virtually everything I came across. In less than a year, I had accumulated more than 50 medals. Much as I enjoyed doing the virtual runs, the downside was that I had so many medals which I didn’t have the space to hang up and display. At last count, I have close to 140 medals now and they are all lying in my storage boxes, waiting to be displayed some day.
As such, go easy from the start and pick the ones that you really like rather than trying to do everything that’s available out there. This will definitely save you a lot of money and space at home in the long run. In fact, if you don’t really want the medals, there are some free virtual runs which come with e-badges or e-medals so you can opt for those instead.
Next up, I will do a feature on the virtual run portals which I’ve used before so hopefully, it will help you decide on which to choose according to your preferences and physical condition. Till then, see you!
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