{"id":1068,"date":"2022-11-01T10:38:36","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T07:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.runzy-run.com\/blog\/?p=1068"},"modified":"2022-12-23T14:09:37","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T11:09:37","slug":"how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Organize a Virtual Race\/Walk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Virtual racing has been on a meteoric rise for the last few years (Strava <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.strava.com\/press\/yis2020\/\">reported <\/a>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.&nbsp;<br>In this article, we\u2019ll show you how you can get a piece of the digital pie and make your own virtual run. But first, let&#8217;s go over the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Virtual Racing 101<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The main difference is that you don&#8217;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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Participants can track their progress using a GPS watch or smartphone app of their choice. Some charity races don&#8217;t even require electronic data and accept your honest word.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>The Perks of Virtual Racing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many reasons to organize a running race in a virtual environment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Quick income<\/strong> \u2013 Virtual events are very efficient for gaining profit due to the unlimited number of participants. The total revenue depends solely on your marketing skills.<\/li><li><strong>Flexibility <\/strong>\u2013<strong> <\/strong>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&#8217;s up to the runners to choose where and when to complete your challenge.<\/li><li><strong>Continuity<\/strong> \u2013 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.<\/li><li><strong>Good cause<\/strong> \u2013 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 \u2013 there are endless opportunities for virtual run ideas.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you know what\u2019s in it for you let\u2019s look at virtual events from the participant\u2019s point of view. 99% of all runners enter them for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Economy <\/strong>\u2013 Except for the registration fee, virtual races cost absolutely nothing. There\u2019s no need to drive or travel to a specific location; no need to rent an apartment or a hotel room; and finally, it\u2019s not time-consuming.<\/li><li><strong>First experience <\/strong>\u2013 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.<\/li><li><strong>Tradition<\/strong> \u2013 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.<\/li><li><strong>Charity<\/strong> \u2013 Entering a virtual fundraising walk allows people to support various social initiatives from the comfort of their homes or neighborhoods, and it&#8217;s much easier to recruit friends by setting an example.<\/li><li><strong>Social distancing<\/strong> \u2013 Whether it&#8217;s COVID-19, monkeypox, flu, or whatever virus outbreak humanity may have in the future, it&#8217;s always a good idea to protect yourself and stay away from crowded places.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Swag<\/strong> \u2013 There are thousands of marathons, half marathons, and other events organized each year in the USA. Obviously, you can&#8217;t make them all in-person, but with the power of digital technology, it&#8217;s possible to complete a race or two every day and significantly expand your collection of custom medals and themed T-shirts.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Virtual Race Director Checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Organizing a virtual event essentially boils down to 7 steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Pick the distance.<\/li><li>Decide on the duration.<\/li><li>Select the platform.<\/li><li>Set the registration fee.<\/li><li>Get the swag.<\/li><li>Set up the logistics.<\/li><li>Promote the event.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3>Step 1: Pick the Distance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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\u2019s favorites <a href=\"https:\/\/www.endurancesportswire.com\/running-usa-2022-global-runner-survey-results-available-webinar-set-for-july-20\/\">according <\/a>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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Use your imagination and give runners a few levels to pick from to complement their fitness ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Step 2: Decide on the Duration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/runsignup.com\/Race\/GoVirtual\/Page\/planning\">RunSignup<\/a> follow this pattern) and watch the number of subscribers go over the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Step 3: Select the Platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some of the most popular players on the virtual racing market:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>RunSignup;<\/li><li>Gone for a Run;<\/li><li>JomRun;<\/li><li>The Conqueror Challenge;<\/li><li>Racery;<\/li><li>Virtual Run Events;<\/li><li>Haku;<\/li><li>Charge Running;<\/li><li>JustMove;<\/li><li>AtlasGO.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3>Step 4: Set the Registration Fee<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u2013 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.virtualrunningclub.com\/host-your-own\/pricing-for-your-own\/#:~:text=The%20typical%20rate%20for%20a,keep%20100%25%20of%20the%20revenue.\">$30<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Step 5: Get the Swag<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the real star of the show is always the finisher\u2019s 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\u2019s shelf). If your run has leaderboards, you can create a special batch of prizes for the top contestants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for the costs, prepare to pay up to $10 for a short-sleeve shirt and up to $5 for a medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Step 6: Set Up the Logistics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Since you have no race officers or volunteers to worry about, the lion\u2019s share of your resources should be spent on producing and shipping the event swag to the runners.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Place your order in advance, especially if it\u2019s coming from overseas, giving yourself a healthy cushion to cancel or make an emergency order elsewhere. Don\u2019t be afraid to get too much swag \u2013 you can always save it for the following year\u2019s event or use it as promotional material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve got the first samples, you can use them to calculate the average mailing cost and plan the remaining budget accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Step 7: Promote the Event<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We guess we shouldn\u2019t 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 \u2013 do whatever you can to reach the masses and increase participation. After all, running unites people and is done for a good cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Final Words of Advice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that we\u2019ve 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!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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.&nbsp; Virtual racing has been on a meteoric rise for the last few years (Strava reported that in 2020 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Organize a Virtual Race\/Walk - RUNZY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"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 - RUNZY\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Organize a Virtual Race\/Walk - RUNZY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 - RUNZY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RUNZY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-01T07:38:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-23T11:09:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/blog-35-min.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1186\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Rublev - Founder &amp; CEO, Runzy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Rublev - Founder &amp; CEO, Runzy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Greg Rublev - Founder &amp; CEO, Runzy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d5079be7ff0db30f2f641cc06a5b7107\"},\"headline\":\"How to Organize a Virtual Race\/Walk\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-01T07:38:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-23T11:09:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/\"},\"wordCount\":1508,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"For Race Directors\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/how-to-organize-a-virtual-race-walk\/\",\"name\":\"How to Organize a Virtual Race\/Walk - RUNZY\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-01T07:38:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-23T11:09:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"The COVID pandemic proved once again that humans are highly adaptable creatures. 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Finally, at age 33, after a co-worker convinced him to try crossfit, he got back to working out and being active. Greg did crossfit for 5 years and ran occasionally to supplement his workouts. As his distances grew longer, a friend inspired him to run a half marathon, which they did together on his 37th birthday. He felt amazing after the run - and it was this feeling that he became addicted to and began thinking about training for a full marathon. As the months went by, he was inspired by an opposition Russian politician Evgeniy Royzman who talked about his marathon training in his weekly youtube posts, as well as by a Boston-based venture capitalists, Semyon Dukach, founder of One Way Ventures, who trained for and ran several marathons that year. Finally, in November of 2018, Greg partnered with Joe McConkey, a head trainer at Boston Running Center, and began training for his first marathon. Greg ran his first marathon in Newport in April. The race was major struggle, as he started out too fast and quickly realized that he was not ready for the amount of hills that comprised the course. But, after stopping several times, he nevertheless finished in exactly 4 hours which was his goal. The experience inspired him to continue to train and he ran his second marathon later that year in Liston, Portugal in a much faster 3 hours and 36 minutes. This race was along the beautiful Portugal coast, stretching from Cascais to Lisbon, and Greg was once again inspired to continue to train with the goal of running the Boston marathon next. Based on his age, the minimum qualifying time is 3:10, but given how many applicants typically apply he will need at least a 3:05 finish time to qualify. He continued to train for another 2 years and improved his time to 3 hours and 21 minutes in Albany, NY in October 2021. He also ran a half marathon in Maine in May 2022 and another full marathon in Biloxi, Mississippi in December 2022. All throughout his journey as a runner, Greg struggled to find his next race. Every time started looking, he found himself combing through dozens of websites and spending hours trying to figure out which races fit his location and time criteria, while also being interesting and relatively easy to run. In early 2022, fed up with this problem, Greg decided to build and launch Runzy so that runners like him could easily find the perfect race for them to run next. After months of work on the platform, Runzy is finally live!\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gregrublev\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/author\/greg-rublev\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Organize a Virtual Race\/Walk - RUNZY","description":"The COVID pandemic proved once again that humans are highly adaptable creatures. 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Finally, at age 33, after a co-worker convinced him to try crossfit, he got back to working out and being active. Greg did crossfit for 5 years and ran occasionally to supplement his workouts. As his distances grew longer, a friend inspired him to run a half marathon, which they did together on his 37th birthday. He felt amazing after the run - and it was this feeling that he became addicted to and began thinking about training for a full marathon. As the months went by, he was inspired by an opposition Russian politician Evgeniy Royzman who talked about his marathon training in his weekly youtube posts, as well as by a Boston-based venture capitalists, Semyon Dukach, founder of One Way Ventures, who trained for and ran several marathons that year. Finally, in November of 2018, Greg partnered with Joe McConkey, a head trainer at Boston Running Center, and began training for his first marathon. Greg ran his first marathon in Newport in April. The race was major struggle, as he started out too fast and quickly realized that he was not ready for the amount of hills that comprised the course. But, after stopping several times, he nevertheless finished in exactly 4 hours which was his goal. The experience inspired him to continue to train and he ran his second marathon later that year in Liston, Portugal in a much faster 3 hours and 36 minutes. This race was along the beautiful Portugal coast, stretching from Cascais to Lisbon, and Greg was once again inspired to continue to train with the goal of running the Boston marathon next. Based on his age, the minimum qualifying time is 3:10, but given how many applicants typically apply he will need at least a 3:05 finish time to qualify. He continued to train for another 2 years and improved his time to 3 hours and 21 minutes in Albany, NY in October 2021. He also ran a half marathon in Maine in May 2022 and another full marathon in Biloxi, Mississippi in December 2022. All throughout his journey as a runner, Greg struggled to find his next race. Every time started looking, he found himself combing through dozens of websites and spending hours trying to figure out which races fit his location and time criteria, while also being interesting and relatively easy to run. In early 2022, fed up with this problem, Greg decided to build and launch Runzy so that runners like him could easily find the perfect race for them to run next. After months of work on the platform, Runzy is finally live!","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gregrublev\/"],"url":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/author\/greg-rublev\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1068"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1424,"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions\/1424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runzy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}