Fitness Friday: JostRunning.com

I knew about JostRunning.com for a while now. Somehow I learned about it 6+ months ago and had mentioned it to my friends as an idea to make our race (in a way) during the fall. The idea of virtual races is pretty new to a lot of people and unless you understand how it is organized and just how you can use it, it might not make as much sense to you. Luckily for my readers, I will be reviewing and posting about my virtual races through JostRunning.com for the next few months. 

  So, you are wondering just what is a virtual race? Basically, you pick the time and place that you plan to run during a given period for the race, but all the race details are handled online and you have the flexibility to race when you want.

Each month, JostRunning offers races in your choice of distance (5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon). You can view all the races to sign up for on their website. Also, like other races us runners participate in, these races benefit a charity. Racers for the month of will be helping support ALS Association in their fight against Lou Gehrig's Disease. The April racers helped to support Best Buddies. In June, racers will be supporting the National Young Arts Foundation and in July racers will be supporting Girls on the Run.

Are you excited to sign up yet? Just check out the list of races on JostRunning and pick the distance you want to run that month. You can currently register for races through July. Once you are registered you can print off a customized bib (if you choose), mine are pictured in the above to photographs. Then just find time to complete your race, and submit your results. Below is a picture of the screenshot after I submitted my race results. If you notice, it shows where you rank among the participants for that race (so far I am #2, might be the only time I am #2 - LOL!) and keeps a record of your time and your pace. It also tells you how many people are participating in this race and the average time of the group. Some people are inspired to race faster if they have statistics like this.

What's even more fun is that you get to earn some race bling for participating! The very top pictures shows the medals for May. I was super impressed with the quality of these medals. They are definitely superior. The ribbon is thick and silky while the medal is made from a thick sturdy medal. They are very nice.

I use the RunKeeper app on my phone to track my time and distance. I know there are other apps, but I wanted to share the name of the one that I use in case you needed an idea.

I am also signed up to complete a 10K through JostRunning this month. I have been keeping my distances to 3 or 4 miles lately, so this will be good motivation to start increasing my distance again.

I really enjoyed my 5K race this morning. I really pushed myself because I knew my time would count and I would be sharing it on the JostRunning website and with my readers. Also, I know I have INTERNATIONAL Readers - they will ship the medals internationally for a s/h charge.