If you’re struggling to stay motivated with exercise this January you might want to try virtual running / walking events.
My first experience of a virtual running event was when I signed up to Run up to Christmas in December. I haven’t divulged much on this blog, but to be honest I have had a pretty rough time in my personal life since I got back from China in October. I injured my shoulder in China which meant I couldn’t run, and I had some other major stuff going on too – as my long term boyfriend left me and I had to find somewhere else to live quite quickly. You may have noticed the lack of posts recently, well this is why. But I’m slowly getting back on top of things 🙂
By December, my shoulder was feeling better and with everything going on I really needed a distraction from Christmas itself. So I decided to sign up to Run up to Christmas – I figured it would give me the motivation to get back into running when it was cold and dark outside and it would also keep me busy and so I didn’t have to think about Christmas.
What is virtual running?
The gist of it was that I had to run at least 50km between the 1st and 25th December. It cost £12 but this went towards Mind charity, plus if you completed the challenge you got a really cool medal at the end, not to mention a sense of achievement. 🙂
With it being December and having a lot going on (I moved on 22nd December), as well as some pretty bad snow half way through the month I was pretty chuffed with myself when I managed to complete the challenge. I did do a few treadmill runs when it was bad weather but these count too! I also did Park Run on Christmas day!
I really enjoyed taking part in this virtual event and what I loved about it was the sense of community and encouragement from others taking part. There was a group on Strava and a hashtag on Instagram which meant it was easy to find and chat to others taking part in the challenge. Virtual running is also good because you choose when and where you run and you can fit it around your life and commitments. You basically run/walk/cycle and record your activities on an activity tracker such as Strava or Garmin. When you’ve completed your challenge you upload your evidence and receive your well earned medal in the post.
What I have since realised is that there are LOADS of these virtual challenges. For 2018, I have signed up to one called Your Mile Challenge and my target is to run 1,000km by the end of the year. I also signed up to a virtual 10km race in January and got a cool medal for that too! Many of these virtual running challenges will also give part of the entry fee to charity so there’s a feel good factor as well 🙂
As part of the Your Mile Challenge, you can also sign up for monthly challenges and do a certain amount of miles or km for the month. If you meet your target you get a medal. There’s also a Facebook group where people taking part share their achievements too. You can also invite your friends to join you too which makes it more competitive and keeps you going 😀
I find these virtual running challenges really help to keep me motivated and give me a reason to get out there and run – especially when it’s cold and wet. If you’re not into running you can also walk, cycle or swim to get the miles in – it doesn’t have to be running.
I thought I’d share on my blog because I didn’t realise these virtual events and communities existed until recently but they really can be excellent for motivation if you are struggling!
I’m hoping with my target of 10 10km races and a half marathon this year, that I’ll meet my 1,000km target for the year. I’m using Strava to record my progress, if you’d like to follow me you can do so here.
Why not give it a go this winter? Alternatively, you can sign up for monthly challenges, or do what I’ve done and sign up for a yearly target.
Happy virtual running / walking!
Louise 🙂 xxx
I’d be interested to know if any of my readers have tried virtual running / walking / cycling and which ones they have tried? Let me know in the comments below! P.s. These are some of my favourites so far…
Your Mile Challenge
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I had scoliosis surgery in 2010 and blog about my experiences living with scoliosis. My aim is to raise awareness of scoliosis and help and inspire others with the condition.
