The Half and Half Virtual Half

I received entry into the Dicks Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Half Marathon as a part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews. 

Okay, so I have this crazy idea, yeah? I'm gonna run a Half and Half Half. Crazy right? 

No idea what I am talking about? Let me back up a bit then for the full story. 

As a BibRave Pro, I am very lucky in that I get a lot of really cool opportunities for promoting and running some amazing races all over the country. See, if money and time were no object, I would run SO many many races in SO many places. And by many, I mean literally any race I could. But alas, here in the real world I have to pick and choose races based on travel costs. So most of the time, unless the race is located within a few hours drive of where I live in northern South Carolina, then I have to sadly pass. 

There is however, a few locations that are an exception to that rule. Locations where I have family living. And there is no place in the US that I have more family than in Pittsburgh, PA. So when I learned that BibRave had partnered with the Pittsburgh Marathon sometime in mid-2019, I immediately put my name in. I love Pittsburgh, it's an amazing city with spectacular views and amazing bridges to run over and the huge added bonus of several dozen Nypavers living there that I could beg a few nights stay off of. 

I was so excited, I doubled down and registered for the Steel Challenge, the 5K on Saturday, May 2 and the Half Marathon on Sunday, May 3 (technically you could do any distance on Sun and it be a part of the Steel Challenge - Half, Marathon or Relay). 2 days of racing, 3 medals, 2 shirts, a pair of custom Pittsburgh Knockaround Sunglasses for running in Pittsburgh, over some amazing bridges and the cherry on top I get to see my family. HELLS YEAH! 

Fast forward to a bit over a month ago. COVID 19. Global Pandemic. Races being cancelled right and left. I knew it was coming, but I didn't want to believe it. Maybe it'll just be March races cancelled. Maybe just March and April. But no, eventually the email I knew would be coming came on March 17 - "We regret to share with all of you that the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon will not take place in 2020..."

I was gutted! But the good people at the Pittsburgh gave us runners 2 options to proceed. One option, and one that not many other cancelled races was offering, was to get a full refund. I'll be honest, I was a bit surprised, but pleasantly so that they offered this option. 

The other option that was given was to run the races as Virtual Races. Basically, runners can run their race distance whenever and where ever they are and they will receive their medals and SWAG in the mail once completed and time submitted. Additionally, the Pittsburgh Marathon team is not just going to just leave us runners to do this on our own, they are issuing challenges and cheering on the runners on social media. And once it is safe to gather in groups again, they will be hosting a mini-festival in Pittsburgh where they will set up the finish line for photos. They also updated their website to go into more detail about how to run the race as a Virtual with information about challenges, perks and other details here: https://thepittsburghmarathon.com/VirtualRace The virtual option is good for all race distances including the kids races. 

I decided that I will be doing the Virtual Race option for my two races. And even though by the new rules, you can run your Virtual Races anytime between April 1 and the original race date of May 2, and 3, I plan to still do my race on the actual race dates. 

So now this is where things get a bit trickier. See, there are lots of good things about Virtual Races. I've written several blog posts on this site about Virtuals. But there is one con that has been creeping up on me lately with several races and challenges going Virtual - how to keep things interesting. I've already done several Virtual races recently, including a Half Marathon, and I'll be honest, I'm getting a bit tired of running the same routes from my house. Enter, the crazy idea of the Half and Half Half Marathon. 

Founders Trail

The idea started forming when I was curious how far away one of my new favorite trails to run, the Founders Trail, was from my house. So I mapped out the distance out from my house to the trail head on MapMyRun and turns out it is 3.3 miles from my house to the trail head. It is then 6.5 miles on the trail and another 3.3 miles back home. An lo and behold... that is EXACTLY 13.1 miles!!! Half on Road, Half on Trail - hence the Half and Half Half Marathon! It's almost too perfect to not do. It's a route I've never run before and it will encompass some of my favorite areas to run. And, I even have to run over a bridge to get to the trail! It may not be the West End Bridge, but it's something.

The grapevine is already my unofficial aid station

Plus, as an added bonus, right at the trail head is one of my favorite local shops to hit up post-run, The Grapevine Riverwalk. The owners are amazing and I've known them for years, so what I am hoping to set up with them to act a an aid station. I would stash my trail shoes and a water bottle there so I can run there, change out my shoes and refill my water if necessary, run the trail, change back into my road shoes, refill the water, and then run back home. They are used to hosting us crazy runners so I am hoping they will be cool with this plan. And of course when I'm finished, I will of course need to go back to pick up my shoes and bottle and MAYBE (ok, definitely) pick up a few refreshments to celebrate my success.

So that is my plan for my Pittsburgh Virtual Half Marathon. It will by no means be my fastest time, I can never seem to pull a PR unless in actual race conditions, so I figured why not make it fun and interesting! 

What do you think of my plan? Crazy? Fun? 

What about you? Have you been doing any Virtual Races? What have you done to keep them interesting and avoid getting bored of the same routes? Let me know in the comments below.