58. How & Why Virtual Races are the answer This has been a CRAZY time of year with races being cancelled. We were scheduled to do a podcast today on the Grandma’s Marathon course preview but it along with thousands of other races this spring and summer have been cancelled! We are faced with the decision to either not race at all or participate in ‘virtual races’. Prior to COVID-19 social distancing I do not think many runners participated in virtual races, but now they are all the rage :) What is a virtual race & when was the first time you heard of them? Time trials Are virtual races hard or easier? Why? Is there a benefit to doing virtual races or should we just continue to train and race when things open up again? Fear of not running to your potential… rusty.. etc Do courses make a difference? Downhill? Perfect weather? etc? Is it okay to pause your watch? Do PRs count as real PRs? Do you expect to see a lot of runners PR in virtual races? How long do you think until regular running comes back? What are ways you can stay excited about virtual races when there isn't a race day atmosphere? What is even the point? Should you do them even if you are not excited about them? How many virtual races is too many?