ZOOM(A)ing Throughout the Year

Disclaimer:  I received an entry to the Zooma Texas Wine Country Virtual Race to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! 

So all this year, BibRave has partnered with the amazing Zooma Women's Race Series to help spread the word about their amazingly fun and women-empowering races. I've loved learning about and seeing all the amazing photos from the series throughout the year while anxiously awaiting my turn to run my own Zooma Race, the Inaugural Texas Wine County Half Marathon. 

The series kicked off in March with the Texas Lost Pines weekend where ladies had the chance to race around Downtown Bastrop, TX - the most historic small town in Texafor a Texas Lost Pines Half Marathon, 10K or 5K. Next up were 2 awesome September races, Great Lakes and Cape Cod, both with really cool events in addition to the races, and even cooler swag! Then, in October, was the incredible Amelia Island weekend. My friend Kim got to go and run it and you can see some of her awesome pics here: http://barkingmadaboutrunning.blogspot.com/2019/10/wordless-wednesday_23.html

Seriously, how cool is this Corkscrew Medal?
Fun and Functional! 

Last up was the Texas Wine Country Race Weekend. This was a new race to the series this year and what a fun one. The medals for the Half Marathon had a built in corkscrew! As soon as I saw them, I immediately knew that I wanted to run this race to earn one. Luckily for me, the Zooma Women's Race Series offers Virtual options for all of their events! Since I live in SC and wasn't able to travel to Texas, I still had the opportunity to register for the race, run my Half Marathon and earn the same swag as the live runners. 

Another great thing about opting for a Virtual Race is that I you can fit the race to meet your schedule as necessary. I was running the Rock n Roll Savannah Half Marathon the same day that the Zooma Texas Wine County Half was racing, so I just put in my Half Marathon a week early. This gave me awesome motivation for one last long training run before Savannah, and I earned some truly cool swag! 

My Virtual Race Day Results

I may have run just a tad more than a Half Marathon distance

Just 1 week after the race date, I received my goodies! This really cool shirt, bag, event specific wine glass and OMG COOL medal. There was also a KT tape sample in the tote bag which, let me tell you, I love! 

Overall, the race series was incredible. All of the pictures from the events I saw posted looked like so much fun. The medals and swag for each event were adorable and really creative. And again, I just love the fact that even if you are unable to travel to the actual event, you can still participate. I plan on participating in another Zooma event next year! 

For more information on Zooma Run events, check out their website here: https://zoomarun.com/ 

And be sure to follow them on socials to see all the cool pictures from their events and daily motivation they send out to empower women runners!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZOOMARun/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZOOMArun

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ZOOMArun/?hl=en

And, if you think that it is cool that I got to check out these races as a part of being a BibRave Pro? Well, the BibRave team is expanding and we are looking for new Pros to join our ranks. To learn more and apply, visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMLYkZWVCNvuq0BG08xOkcM5gubikyWfR_8hnhojetVAW4cQ/viewform

The Benefits of Racing Virtually

You ever feel like there are just way too many cool races out there, too many awesome charities you'd like to support and too many way cool medals out there to collect and not enough time or funds to travel all the places you'd need to go? 

Never fear - through Virtual Racing you can find the freedom to set your racing schedule to fit your needs. Here are 5 reasons why you should consider joining the ever-increasing ranks of Virtual Races, a community that is growing larger each year. 

1. Race on Your Schedule

The by far number 1 reason for running a Virtual Race is that you can race whenever and wherever is most convenient to you. The majority of Virtual Races will give you time frame in which to complete your race - typically either a certain week or even a certain month. This way, if you have a non-traditional schedule, say, you work Saturday mornings when most races take place, you still get to race and earn fun bling. Or, maybe you live in an area that doesn't have many local races, making it harder to compete due to travel costs. Virtual races let anyone race anywhere! 

Earn the same medals as those running the race in Texas,
from anywhere in the world! 

2. Earn Fun Bling

Virtual Races are a great way to to boost your medal collection. There are so many cute ones out there! Often times, you can even earn the same medals as those running the official race event. For example, the Zooma Race Series has virtual options for all of their events, so Virtual participants can earn the same bling as those who can travel to the event. Sound like something want to try out? You can register for any Zooma Virtual at a 15% off with discount code: ZOOMABR here: http://zoomarun.com/race/

3. Less Pressure to Compete

Some people love to use others to push themselves, but there are others that can feel intimidated at organized races. With a virtual race, you can kind of build your own experience. Want competition? Invite your crew to run with you. Running with others cause you stress? Feel free to run solo. You can really customize your own race experience to whatever is most comfortable for you. 

4. Support Some Awesome Charities

Most Virtual Races typically will be in support of a charity, which gives you a great way to support an important cause while getting in your miles. Because the Virtual Races do not have to  pay for things like municipal fees for closing streets and aid stations and so on, they often can donate more of your entry fee to charities. And you can pick and choose Virtual Races that support causes that are important to you. Go ahead, do a web search for a charity that you love and I bet you can find a Virtual Race to support it. 

5. Be a Part of a Huge, Supportive Community
Most Virtual Races have extensive online communities that participants can become a part of both before and after race events. Maybe you are more shy in person than you are from behind a keyboard. If so, getting to know others on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or on event websites may be just what you are looking for. These communities offer awesome support systems and encouragement that you may not have access to in the real world due to distance, time, or social obligations. 

So, ready to get started on Virtual Racing? There are tons of options out there. In fact, I am participating in a Virtual Race tomorrow for International Women's Day. The Zooma Women's Day 5K officially takes place tomorrow (though you can run your miles anytime during the month of March) and still has a few spots open. You can join by registering here: http://zoomarun.com/race/womens-day-5k/ and I even have an awesome discount code for you: register with "RUNTHEWORLDBR" to save 10% on sign-up. Here's what you get with your registration! 

Let me know in the comments if you plan to join me out there on the Virtual Race Course! There are literally 100s of options out there to choose from! 

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the Zooma Womens Day 5K to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!