Month: September 2019

Another race on the books for me, a nice four miler. This was a more enjoyable race for me than several others this race season.  Almost 2,000 other people were there as well for Run For The Tree Kangaroos, next year it will be Run For The Three Toed Sloth.  Everything seemed to have fallen into place in a perfect manner.  The course layout, the logistics, the photography, the volunteers, all top notch.  There are some local race organizers and timing company’s that should take some ques from the Kansas City Zoo Run team.  In my humble opinion, some races I have run this race season were poorly managed and planned.  Not so with this race.

The race began near Starlight Theater and winds through the Kansas City Zoo and out near the parking area.  A nice bonus, runners got free admission back into the zoo with their bib number.  The zoo and Starlight sit in Swope Park in Kansas City, not exactly the safest area to be at night.  Starlight during the summer host outdoor Broadway plays, and concerts.  The Kansas City Zoo is a decent zoo, they have some fun animals to visit, lions, tigers and a polar bear named Berlin are among my favorites.  Politically the zoo and I probably don’t agree on much. They seem to harp too much on man caused global warming/climate change/climate science, or whatever term is being used now to push the agenda of the far left for more government control and regulation, and to help make some of the procrastinators rich on their version of science.  Wow, did I go off the rails for a second or what?……  But I can go to the zoo and ignore them telling me how naughty I am if I don’t use a super energy light bulb or public transportation. 

They mentioned it was a fast course, and it was.  I recorded my best time yet for a zoo run. This was my third time to run the zoo run, and it was my second best time ever for a four mile race, I’ve run six to date.  I really only got winded once, stopped for a couple of seconds, then was good to go.  I guess stopping for a second, I violated my new race motto.  You’ve heard the old saying, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”, well my new race motto is, “I’ll breathe when I cross the finish line!” 

I am a runner.  As of September 2019, I have run 32 races. I’ve run 5K’s, 10K’s, 4 milers, and half marathons.  Not once have I ever paid to run a “virtual” race.  I don’t get the purpose or the appeal.  Organized races are not free, sometimes they can be kind of expensive.  Usually these races are raising funds for a worthwhile cause, so it is not like someone is getting rich off of the fees. But when I pay to run in a race, I want to actually run the race on race day.  I want the thrill of running with other people. I want to outrun as many people as I can, and to try and beat my PR (personal record).

From what I understand about a virtual race, a participant pays the fee, (which could be more than the regular registration fee), then they can run the distance, where they choose to, and at their leisure.  Where is the sport in that?  There is no official time kept.  No official distance measured. No photos to remember race day with, no thrill of crossing the finish line.  Even if the virtual runner were to beat one of the top finishers official times, it means nothing.  It isn’t official.  Plus, apparently the virtual runner receives shirt and other swag, maybe a finishers medal if they were given.  Finisher’s medal. That’s a whole different issue that I have mixed feelings over.  But, another day, another blog on that one.

My point is simple.  When you run a virtual race, you are basically paying someone for you to run when you feel like it.  That is actually something I do for free, all the time.  If I am not running in an organized race,  I run at my leisure, or when I can,  several times a week.  I won’t  pay for that.  I don’t see why anyone would.