How to use a virtual race to motivate a team of runners

A virtual race is an awesome way to motivate a high school or college cross country or track team, whether in season or out of season!

Just add up all the miles you think a strong runner will accumulate during a season of training. Add 30% to that tally to encourage runners to stretch a little further. Then pick two meaningful end-points that are that distance apart — maybe from one end of the state to the other… or from your school’s front door to the entrance to the park where the state championship will be run!

We’ll create a route and you’re off!

Rather than disappearing into the ether, all those training miles will add up on the map, with additional motivation added as racers move up and down the race’s leader board, and accumulate new ‘longest run’ and ‘longest streak’ accolades. Racers can also like and comment on each other’s runs, or post pictures of their own favorite routes or run mates.

If you really want to push the envelope, divide your runners into teams and they’ll push each other even harder.

You can pick from one of our standard virtual race routes on this page… or feel free to request a custom route! Below, you can see how a girl’s team in Nebraska is preparing for the state championship meet in Kearney by logging miles en route from its own school.

We advise: don’t try to motivate runners with a gift certificate or other prize. Pride is THE prize.

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