Compete With Others in Virtual Races, Even If You Train Alone
Can’t wait for that weekend race or that date with your slightly faster cycling buddy? You can rekindle your competitive spirit right now with apps and virtual races. Here are some fun ones.
With each of these options, you run or cycle yourself, but you can compare your time or progress with others for added motivation – or simply enjoy the knowledge that you have company in some way. Here are some outstanding apps:
- Available for both iOS and Android, Strava tracks outdoor running and cycling with many opportunities to challenge yourself. Each route or “segment” has its own leaderboard, so when you run or cycle in a popular location, you can compare your time with other Strava users and possibly get the coveted KOM (King-of-Mountain) status. Strava also offers non-competitive assignments , such as merit badges, that you can win by running or cycling a certain distance or meeting other requirements. For example, there is a task to explore and photograph new routes.
- RunSocial , currently available for iOS only, plays videos of scenic outdoor trails as you run on the treadmill, speeding up or slowing down the video according to your speed. Anyone who takes the course will be displayed on the video (each user chooses an avatar), so just like in real life, you can try to hold on to them or outrun them and leave them in the dust.
- Some real-life races, such as Beat the Blerch and Christmas Story Run , offer a virtual option for those who can’t. Typically, you pay a registration fee and receive a gift package in the mail, possibly including items such as a T-shirt and a finisher’s medal. You race anywhere, anytime. Some, like the Oddysey Half Marathon , ask you to post a photo of your GPS watch or phone to show you did it; for others, you are in the honor system.
Find out more in Outside Magazine about other virtual experiences for riders you’ve never met, never even met.
What are the best virtual races? | outside
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