The COVID pandemic proved once again that humans are highly adaptable creatures. The necessity to stay put and the inability to travel did not stop us from working, socializing, and doing physical activities, including running or walking.
Virtual racing has been on a meteoric rise for the last few years (Strava reported that in 2020 people ran three times as many marathons as in 2019 despite the cancellation of all events). And cyber running events surprisingly bring a ton of benefits for both runners and race event organizers.
In this article, we’ll show you how you can get a piece of the digital pie and make your own virtual run. But first, let’s go over the basics.
Virtual Racing 101
At its core, a virtual race is like any other running event: you sign up to run or walk a specific distance or in a series of challenges and receive a medal and a bunch of swag for completing it.
The main difference is that you don’t actually have to be physically present at the event and instead run it anywhere: in a local park, on a stadium track, in a forest, around your house, or even on a treadmill.
Participants can track their progress using a GPS watch or smartphone app of their choice. Some charity races don’t even require electronic data and accept your honest word.
The Perks of Virtual Racing
There are many reasons to organize a running race in a virtual environment:
- Quick income – Virtual events are very efficient for gaining profit due to the unlimited number of participants. The total revenue depends solely on your marketing skills.
- Flexibility – Rain or shine, nothing stops a virtual race from happening. You can keep making money in the midst of a scorching summer or during the winter cold because it’s up to the runners to choose where and when to complete your challenge.
- Continuity – If you already have an established real-world event, it only makes sense to add a virtual race to it. This will prevent you from losing money in case of an unfortunate cancellation and help regulars who cannot make it to your physical race to keep their running tradition alive and still get their annual medals.
- Good cause – Virtual races help raise awareness of a healthy lifestyle and engage more people to start running. You can also earn extra karma points by donating the event proceeds to a particular charity or local community – there are endless opportunities for virtual run ideas.
Now that you know what’s in it for you let’s look at virtual events from the participant’s point of view. 99% of all runners enter them for:
- Economy – Except for the registration fee, virtual races cost absolutely nothing. There’s no need to drive or travel to a specific location; no need to rent an apartment or a hotel room; and finally, it’s not time-consuming.
- First experience – A virtual event is an excellent opportunity for non-athletes or casual joggers to become proud members of the global running community. Whether you feel uncomfortable around large crowds and doubt your competitive prowess, or just want to get active and lose some weight, you finally have a chance to break the mold and earn your first running badge.
- Tradition – Sometimes, the stars do not align in your favor, and you have to miss your favorite annual marathon. But thanks to modern technology, your streak will be kept alive.
- Charity – Entering a virtual fundraising walk allows people to support various social initiatives from the comfort of their homes or neighborhoods, and it’s much easier to recruit friends by setting an example.
- Social distancing – Whether it’s COVID-19, monkeypox, flu, or whatever virus outbreak humanity may have in the future, it’s always a good idea to protect yourself and stay away from crowded places.
- Swag – There are thousands of marathons, half marathons, and other events organized each year in the USA. Obviously, you can’t make them all in-person, but with the power of digital technology, it’s possible to complete a race or two every day and significantly expand your collection of custom medals and themed T-shirts.
Virtual Race Director Checklist
Organizing a virtual event essentially boils down to 7 steps:
- Pick the distance.
- Decide on the duration.
- Select the platform.
- Set the registration fee.
- Get the swag.
- Set up the logistics.
- Promote the event.
Step 1: Pick the Distance
The good thing about virtual racing is that the run length does not matter. For an organizer, hosting a 5k race is no different from coordinating a marathon.
The distance usually depends on the event type. Charity runs are typically short and easy, ranging from 1K to 5K. Professional running races feature marathon and half marathon events (which remain the people’s favorites according to the Running USA 2022 Survey), or even a series of progressive challenges, for example, 100 miles in 10 days or a trip from New York to Los Angeles.
Use your imagination and give runners a few levels to pick from to complement their fitness ability.
Step 2: Decide on the Duration
Virtual runners should be treated equally with in-person racers and have the opportunity to start the event at the same time. However, you can easily scale up your remote audience by enabling flexible participation. Extend the entry window from 7 to 30 days (almost half of all virtual races on RunSignup follow this pattern) and watch the number of subscribers go over the moon.
Step 3: Select the Platform
There’s no shortage of apps and services that help you create and share a custom race. The main components that you should be looking for are tracking options, leaderboards, maps, cross-platform support, and the ability to create a registration page. You can also purchase a complete turnkey running event and just focus on spreading the word.
Here are some of the most popular players on the virtual racing market:
- RunSignup;
- Gone for a Run;
- JomRun;
- The Conqueror Challenge;
- Racery;
- Virtual Run Events;
- Haku;
- Charge Running;
- JustMove;
- AtlasGO.
Step 4: Set the Registration Fee
If you don’t have sponsorship, registration fees are your only source of income from virtual racing, so you need to make them right. Charity runs would benefit from the donation-based model, where participants can decide how much they would like to pay for the entry.
For more straightforward events, you can charge a fixed amount, create several participation tiers, or gradually increase the price as the date of the event approaches – just like you would for a regular run. The rule of thumb is you want to cover the platform services and merch production/shipping and still achieve a profit (Virtual Running Club sets the magic number at $30).
Step 5: Get the Swag
Speaking of merch, this is perhaps one of the biggest reasons remote events are so popular. Virtual runs with medals and branded clothing give people a sense of accomplishment and bragging rights until any of their friends match them.
Start by designing an event logo and a catchphrase that you can incorporate into T-shirts, bibs, hats, coffee mugs, stickers, and any memorabilia you plan to send out.
However, the real star of the show is always the finisher’s medal. It requires extra attention to detail and has to capture the spirit of the event perfectly (and obviously, it has to look good on someone’s shelf). If your run has leaderboards, you can create a special batch of prizes for the top contestants.
As for the costs, prepare to pay up to $10 for a short-sleeve shirt and up to $5 for a medal.
Step 6: Set Up the Logistics
Since you have no race officers or volunteers to worry about, the lion’s share of your resources should be spent on producing and shipping the event swag to the runners.
Place your order in advance, especially if it’s coming from overseas, giving yourself a healthy cushion to cancel or make an emergency order elsewhere. Don’t be afraid to get too much swag – you can always save it for the following year’s event or use it as promotional material.
Once you’ve got the first samples, you can use them to calculate the average mailing cost and plan the remaining budget accordingly.
Step 7: Promote the Event
We guess we shouldn’t tell you for the millionth time about the importance of social media and generating interest. You know the drill: spam your friends on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. and make them share your links; join running forums and groups; send invitations to random people; give away flyers in your neighborhood, use word of mouth – do whatever you can to reach the masses and increase participation. After all, running unites people and is done for a good cause.
Final Words of Advice
Now that we’ve told you everything about all requirements for a virtual run or walk, here comes the easy part: go out and execute your plan! Just remember to do it with good intentions and have fun!
