With virtual races becoming more popular in 2020, NYCRuns set up an incredible new challenge that has excited a lot of runners. The "NYCRuns Subway System Challenge" challenges runners to run 245 miles (the entire length of the NYC subway system) within 15 weeks (Memorial Day to Labor Day). This is a wonderful long term motivator to get out there and log those miles. The great thing is that a portion of the race's proceeds and all donations goes towards the Robin Hood Relief Fund which is currently helping families and front line workers get through the Covid crisis.

As with all virtual races you can run this anywhere you want and break it up however you'd like. Entering your miles is on the honor system. After you run you'll log in to your NYCRuns account to log in your miles. The site will keep track of your weekly mileage, your completion percentage, and exactly how many miles you have to go. Then every Monday you can download a new "postcard" that gives you a new location that you have ran to in the virtual world starting at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY.

The swag for this challenge is pretty great too. The basic swag level registration will get you a quality medal, a tank top, and a light hoodie all with the challenge logo on them. The highest registration gave you a special gift which was revealed to be a medal holder to hang on your wall.

As stated above, if you are looking for a long-term motivator then this challenge is wonderful! I've had a great experience with it so far, contact has been very smooth and quick, and I've already received my swag which looks amazing. Happy Running!

The summer virtual series from runDisney is always a great set of races to sign up for. Consisting of three 5K races this series opens for registration in April. Be sure to keep an eye out for the date as Disney races can sell out fast. Runners have the option to sign up for any of the three individual races or they can sign up for the "Challenge" which will have them running all three races throughout the summer. Registrants will receive a finisher certificate, race bib that they can print out, and a medal for each race that they registered for. If you signed up for the Challenge then you'll receive all three race medals as well as a fourth Challenge medal and a Challenge coin. As a virtual race, runners can run their race at any time anywhere they choose. Disney uses the honor system for the virtual races so you do not need to turn in a time to receive your medals but their is a page on their website to turn in a time that can be put on your finisher certificate.

It wouldn't be Disney without an amazing theme! Each summer Disney chooses a new theme to focus the races on. In 2019 it was Marvel with medals representing Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and a Marvel 80th Anniversary medal. This year in 2020 the medals represent various Disney attractions. Medals represent The Mad Tea Party, The Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, and the original Season Pass Booklets. The race swag is usually mailed out in July so runners have to be patient. Trust me, the patience is worth it. The Disney medals are high quality. They are a heavy metal material (apologies I am not sure what kind) tied to a thick and sturdy lanyard.

The management of the races is great. The help team at Disney are quick to respond and are very helpful. I definitely recommend these virtual races to all runners out there.

The Al Gordon Brooklyn 4 Mile had 4,737 runners cross the finish line (2,439 men and 2,298 women). Registrants of this race received a pair of winter gloves from New Balance with the race logo and name on it.

The NYRR brought their usual well oiled machine preparedness to this race and had a very well organized bag check, bib pick up, plenty of bathrooms to use, and even had some fun music playing before the race to keep spirits high. Runners gathered in the center of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY and geared up for a race that would take them slightly over one loops of the park.

The first mile of this race has runners starting east on Center Drive and turning left on the park’s main loop drive which will head north towards Battle Pass Hill. After ascending Battle Pass Hill runners will follow the main road west as they run through some gently rolling terrain in the second mile. The third mile starts to head south down a long, gentle hill. At this point runners will have a great view of Prospect Park Lake that will be on their left. Terrain here will be mostly flat. This is a great time for runners to open up their pace and have some fun. Don’t push too hard as you’ll have one more gradual hill till climb in the fourth mile. As runners near the race’s finish the lake will remain on the left and runners will turn to start running north towards the finish. This fourth mile is a gentle hill climb the whole way so dig deep. As runners approach Center Drive, they will turn left and race to the finish at the starting point.

This race is a TCS NYC Marathon 9+1 program qualifier and definitely one I would recommend to runners. It’s a fun, shorter distance and it gives you plenty of fun elements throughout the course. Battle Pass Hill provides a great hill workout (that runners will also run during the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon), you have great sights of Prospect Park Lake, and the park itself gives runners some great scenery to occupy them during the run.

My first physical race of the year brought me out to Central Park in New York City for the NYRR’s Fred Lebow Half Marathon on January 19, 2020. This race honors the late NYRR president and New York City Marathon co-founder, Fred Lebow (1932–1994).

The Fred Lebow Half had 5,283 runners cross the finish line (3,250 men and 2,033 women). Registrants received a great winter cap from New Balance with the race logo and name on it and a beautiful medal that NYRR members could get engraved with their name and race time.

The NYYR were well prepared for the runners on race day and had a very well organized bag check, bib pick up, plenty of bathrooms to use, and some fun music playing before the race as well to keep spirits high. Given that the race start/finish was not located near the Naumburg Bandshell like usual when the NYRR holds races in Central Park, there wasn’t really much in terms of a pre/after party which was a little disappointing.

This year’s race had a slightly altered route around Central Park in New York City. Starting on East Drive just south of the 102nd Street Cross Drive runners completed two-plus full loops of the outer ring of the park which brought them north on East Drive through the Harlem Hills and continued south on West Drive to the lower loop of the park before heading north on East Drive and passing the start line. Runners completed a second loop of the same route, and then ran the north bend of the park a third time before finishing on the 102nd Street Cross Drive near West Drive. The most challenging part of this course was Harlem Hill. Running this hill once is fine and even twice is okay but can be tough depending how much energy you have left on the second climb. However, this race had runners run up Harlem Hill a third time and this last and final climb happened to be in the thirteenth mile of this Half marathon.

The Fred Lebow Half definitely brought some challenges to the runners. Some of these challenges included running Harlem Hill three times, some soggy winter weather, and a less than enthusiastic crowd to support runners. Even with those challenges faces its runners I would recommend this race to runners in the area.

“Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up.” – Rocky Balboa

Inspired by the popular Rocky film franchise, Rocky Run is a pair of races, a 5K and a 10 Mile along with the “Italian Stallion Challenge” that has runners running both races back to back to equal 13.1 miles – a half marathon (though finish the 5K fast enough and you’ll have a break before the 10 Mile starts). The event was extremely well organized with amazing communication through email and the race’s social media outlets. All of the booths at “Runner’s Village”, from info and merch to packet pickup and medal pickups, were well staffed and ran quickly and smoothly. It was great to see the event running so smooth.

Both of the courses started and finished in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s steps (known to fans as “The Rocky Steps”). The courses were designed as an out and back and are relatively flat except you see a small dip in elevation in the beginning of the 5K (and then up when you return). If you're running the 5K you won't hit any true hill work. The course will be a mile and a half out and back along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The course’s one true hill came at Mile 3 in the 10 Mile race. This hill was nicknamed “Mount Drago” and had Ivan Drago quotes on signs as you climbed up. This mile stretch of the course was entirely uphill and is clearly the toughest part of the course. Keep those legs pumping at a nice even pace and you’ll make it up this monster.

After climbing that monster hill, which climbs about 165 feet in elevation, you have a great downhill for Mile 4 and then back to the flat course until the finish. The scenery as you run up Martin Luther King Jr. Drive through Fairmount Park and along the Schuylkill River is absolutely beautiful, especially on a crisp November morning. You have the beautiful trees to one side of you and the river on the other. They are the perfect pieces of Pennsylvania scenery to have on a long run.

The race had a lot of volunteers so the water stations were well staffed and there were even volunteers holding giant signs in the shapes of the various Rocky characters’ heads cheering on runners to keep spirits high. Also, the one thing that I really enjoyed was that not only did the race have Rocky music playing in the “Runner’s Village” and at the Start and Finish lines but they also had music tents about every mile or so playing Rocky music to keep runners pumped as they progressed through the course.

I really have to say that I loved running these races. They were a lot of fun, very well organized, and the course was beautiful. Participants received a Rocky Run cotton t-shirt with the option to upgrade to a tech shirt. Finishers received some amazing medals. There is a 5K, a 10 Mile, and an Italian Stallion Challenge medal. If you run the Challenge you get all three which is fantastic. One of the great things is that after you have conquered the races there are some great spots to take photos by including the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s steps and the Rocky Statue from the films. I highly recommend that all runners look into running this event in 2020.