Back in April the 2017 runDisney Virtual Running Shorts sign ups opened and I signed up for the entire series: three 5k races over the summer, one each month in June, July and August. I posted reviews of each of my runs and this post will be a review of the series itself and not my achievements in each of the runs individually.
First, let me briefly explain what a virtual race is and how it works with runDisney. A virtual race is a race that you run at any time and in any location. You can pick a Saturday morning, a Tuesday night, you can run in your neighborhood, on a track, or at Walt Disney World. runDisney gave you from June 1-30, July 1-31 and August 1-31 to run each race respectively. You could sign up for just one, two, or all three.
Each individual race cost $42 and the series cost $147 total ($49 per race). Each race registration included a 5k medal, an electronic bib for you to customize and print, and the ability to enter your time and print a race completion certificate. These virtual races use an honor system, so you don't have to prove you ran in order to get your medal.
If you registered for the series, you would receive all of the above for each race, plus a finisher medal for completing all three race in the series, a cooling tower, a collapsible dog bowl and a pet ID tag. The 2017 series had Pluto as the mascot and selected an honorary charity to receive some of the registration proceeds (Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando), and so runners were encouraged to run with their dogs. Therefore dog accessories were included for those registering for the series so their pets could receive a reward too.
My dog Leia in her Minnie Mouse gear on a training run with me
Registration was super easy and I registered for the series the night that registration began. I had heard that there's a set number of medals produced and therefore sign ups can sell out. I didn't want to miss out after regretting not signing up for last year's Virtual Running Shorts series. You complete a pretty short form online and sign a disclaimer, pay at the time of purchase and you're done! Shortly after I signed up I received an email with more information about the races and how to get my bib and certificate. I also got an email later about Disney's runDisney playlists on Spotify, some of which I used during my races.
Some people strongly dislike the idea of virtual races. They think it's pointless to "race" alone and absurd that people pay to run in their own neighborhood or a local park. Furthermore, they hate the honor system that allows participants to receive medals even if they didn't run. My response is this, how would you prove someone ran a virtual race? Even if I had to enter my time to get my medal to ship, I could make it up. There's really no way around using the honor system and if people really want a medal without earning it, there's always eBay. Removing virtual races won't change that and runDisney is not the only virtual race organizer. And finally, if you participate in a runDisney event at a Disney Park and you don't finish a race for whatever reason, you still get your medal.
I wore this shirt during my races
So let's talk about why I wanted to run the Virtual Running Shorts as opposed to a local race or a runDisney event on property. I had been out of the running habit for 7 months when I started training for the Virtual Running Shorts and man had I regressed. My aim in running the Virtual Running Shorts series was that I wanted something that would motivate me to get back in shape, to get back into running and exercising regularly, something that was fun and realistic to stick to. Running a local race needed to work with my schedule and on top of that it came with a little more pressure of having experienced runners around me.
I was really thankful for having the opportunity to run a virtual race. Not having a ton of people running around me relieved my self consciousness of how often I had to take walk breaks, how red I got from how hard running 3 miles was, and the super slow time in which I finished. On top of that, I could not afford to take a trip to Walt Disney World just for a 5k and being a beginner at running, I wasn't sure I'd even be able to finish with their 16:00 mile pace requirement. The virtual nature of the race meant I didn't have a minimum pace requirement. Had I been running my June and July 5k at Walt Disney World, I would have been swept both times for not meeting the minimum pace requirement. That would have been such a disappointment and a waste of money that I paid for a race I didn't finish.
The trail where I ran my races
Having a set time frame to complete each virtual race also held me accountable. Sure it was still possible to blow it off, no one was checking in on me to make sure I did it, but something about knowing I'd signed up to run 3.1 miles by a set date made me do it. I don't like to be a quitter or a failure. If you don't intend to do what you've signed up for, then there's really no need to sign up. The Virtual Running Shorts held me accountable in making sure I got back in to running with regular training because I didn't want to suck at my 5k races! With each run I almost looked forward to the next for a chance to beat my previous time. If I had signed up for one local race, I may have stopped training either beforehand ("It's still 6 months away! I can skip a run this week") or after ("Well that race is over, I guess I don't really need to run today"). But having a race each month for three consecutive months meant I needed to keep up with my running.
Another neat aspect of the virtual races that I enjoyed but didn't think about when I signed up, was having friends in other states who also signed up to do the series like I did. We were then able to coordinate days and times so that we were technically running the race "together" in different places. It was that much more fun and motivating to know someone else was doing the exact same race I was in that same moment. We had each other for encouragement, motivation, and comparing notes on what went well and not so well in order to do better next time. That also added an extra layer to the accountability of the Virtual Running Shorts.
Pet ID tag, box of medals, collapsible dog bowl, and cooling towel
As someone who couldn't take a Walt Disney World trip just to run a race, I really appreciated how Disney made the Virtual Running Shorts feel like an event. They had some great merchandise you could buy including Champion brand performance tees and jackets, a pin, car magnet, baseball cap, and maybe other things I'm forgetting. It made me feel valued as a participant as if I'd run a race at Walt Disney World and not just on a local trail. Having friends run the series too also helped to make it feel like an event. We shared the same experience even though we weren't at the same place at the same time.
So what did I think about the value of the Virtual Running Shorts Series? At $42 a race I wouldn't say that was cheap, but it's pretty on par with local races in my area, where a 5k costs between $35-$50 and some of those races don't even include a medal, and the ones that do aren't always to the high quality Disney medals are. Signing up for the series meant each race cost $47, an extra $5 a race for a total of $15 more than running individual races. I did appreciate the extra goodies that came with running the series: the finisher medal and collapsible dog bowl which my dog will get a lot of use out of and she deserves for training with me! But if you don't care about that stuff you could save some money by registering for each of the three races individually instead of signing up for the series.
Virtual Running Shorts Merchandise
I don't think each medal is worth $42, but they are very impressive, high quality medals so I'm not disappointed. I was also surprised by how much of a motivating factor the medals were for me. I wouldn't let myself see or open the medal until I'd completed my race - and boy did I want to open them! It was also a nice reward after finding 3.1 miles very difficult as a beginner. I felt I really did deserve the medal and I was glad to have something to show for my suffering (haha!). When I signed up, I was informed via email that the medals would ship after the completion of the series, however I received a box containing all four medals and my dog's swag toward the end of June.
I really loved how Disney encouraged you to participate with your dog. I took the 5k races pretty seriously and didn't want my easily distracted whippet puppy to slow me down, so my baby girl went on training runs with me but didn't join in on any of the 5k races themselves. It was fun to have her train with me in her Minnie dress and for her to get some swag for her participation.
My medals in order: June, July, August and the Series Finisher
Overall I am really happy Disney ran their Virtual Running Shorts series again this year, I loved the involvement of Pluto as a mascot, and I'm thrilled that I participated. I got everything I wanted out of the races, I felt like Disney came through with fantastic medals and accessories, fun and supportive emails, and great merchandise to make me feel part of the runDisney family. I would definitely recommend the Virtual Running Shorts to those getting into running! I think it helps to pick your own time and place to run and not to have a ton of people passing you and making you feel crappy. (Unless that motivates you I guess!) However, if you're a pretty experienced runner who does 3 miles or more on the regular, I can see how this is really not necessary for you and turns out to be a pretty expensive training run with a medal you don't really need. But it could still be fun for you to do with friends.
This was a pretty long article, I apologize! But thanks for reading and if you have any questions, please let me know, I'd be happy to answer them!
