This is how virtual running works

Not only running, "virtual running" also needs to be learned. Because with virtual runs you are responsible for the success yourself, from keeping the distance to the correctness of the result. The best tips for Virtual Runners are therefore compactly summarized here.

Who are the Virtual Runners?

Virtual runners are runners like you and me. They love to run. For them, running is not just a means to an end, but also an end in itself. Because running is just great fun. But every now and then it can be a race and, more and more often, a virtual run, a so-called virtual run. That is why fans of virtual runs are often referred to as virtual runners and that's how we keep it in this article.

Which virtual runs are there?

When we talk about virtual runs, we mean, of course, all of our Laufcampus Runningdays. These take place eight times a year. Four times as the eponymous one-week Runningdays and also four times as the 90-minute-Challenges . We offer all virtual runners opportunities all year round to train and to compete with themselves or others via the virtual runs.

What technology do virtual runners need?

How is the time taken?

In a virtual run, the virtual runners are usually responsible for maintaining the required distance. As with classic running events, timekeeping is also carried out electronically for virtual runs.

During fun runs and city runs, you usually have a chip on your start number or your shoe, which activates the timing when crossing the start line and ends after crossing the finish line. This is the luxury variant and one speaks of a net time (start line to finish line). When talking about gross time, it means the official starting shot. Runners in the rear field of participants who only reach the starting line a few seconds or even minutes later have a correspondingly worse gross time (starting shot to the finish line).

With our virtual runs there is only the significantly more attractive net time, because our virtual runners are responsible for timing and thus for starting and stopping the recording. This is also done with a chip, but this does not have to be carried separately, but is already built into the sports watch (smartwatch) or smartphone.

Which is better sports watch or smartphone?

Which is better, sports watch or smartphone, every virtual runner will probably answer differently. How ambitious and performance-oriented someone is running the sport plays a role in the decision.

Basically, the trend among recreational athletes is towards smartphones. Because leaving the smartphone at home is no longer an option for many. And if you have your mobile phone with you anyway, you can use any running app to record the running time and track the distance. In addition, a camera is always at hand with the mobile phone and you can document your running experiences first-class and upload them to social media (don't forget the hashtag #laufcampus ). With a screenshot of the app, a receipt is created that is required for the entry of the result.

Nevertheless, smartphones also have some disadvantages. The control of speed, heart rate, running time and split time is much more inconvenient. Unless the announcement of automatic split times (e.g. after every kilometer) is enough. A sports watch is clearly user-friendly here. Briefly move the wrist towards the eye and the required information is recorded. That's the theory. Because many users of the highly complex sports watches find it very difficult to use the numerous possibilities of the sports computer on the wrist and leave it with a basic setting that ambitious and tech-savvy runners can change very quickly and adapt to their own needs.

So there is no better or worse, it simply depends on your own preferences.

Which apps are suitable for recording the virtual runs?

There are numerous running apps. From my own application, I can recommend the Strava or Polar Beat apps. These are free and can be found in the app stores for Android and iPhone. With both apps you can also connect the optical heart rate monitor Polar OH1 or Polar Verity Sence OHR for the upper arm via Bluetooth. This is irrelevant for timekeeping, but from my point of view mandatory for precise training control (the wrist measurement is still too imprecise).

How can you optimally use the sports watch?

To stop the time, you can either keep an eye on the distance (Runningdays) or the duration (90-minute challenges) and stop the measurement manually at the push of a button when the task is achieved. Or you can preset the task and the measurement will stop automatically. At Garmin you go to the menu of the sports watch and select Set up training and goal. With Polar, you use the Flow Web App and the Add training target function in the diary. As described above, you have to be a little tech-savvy to do this, then it works well.

How does the upload of the results work?

The results lists are open to everyone at the beginning of the Runningdays event period. They can be changed personally up to one day after the event in order to give the late starters among the virtual runners the chance to run on Sunday evenings and only enter the data on Monday.

The entry of the personal results can be done after entering the individual RegistrationID and the surname, after clicking on edit your result. Every Virtual Runner receives the RegistrationID in the week before the event.

The time is always entered in hours, both for the 1000-meter run (e.g. 00:04:12) and for the marathon (e.g. 04:12:35). To complete the entry you have to add a receipt. This can be a photo from the sports watch display or a snapshot from the smartphone or desktop app.

How does the organizer check the accuracy of the results?

Basically, there is a lot of trust between the organizer and the runner. Because if you cheat other runners, you are cheating yourself first and foremost. Therefore, honesty is part of the code of honor of every virtual runner. Nevertheless, the organizer carries out spot checks by checking the plausibility of the submitted results. This is done with the help of the submitted documents.

We wish you good luck with your virtual runs

Andreas Butz & amp; the team of the Runningdays

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