The VIRA Island Race Series Cedar 12k Virtual Challenge had drawn to a close! So far, the virtual version of the VIRA Island Race Series has been fun!
I’ve been doing a lot of virtual challenges to keep myself motivated to continue running (even though there have been days when I didn’t feel like running).
If you haven’t yet joined the 2021 VIRA Island Race Series Virtual Challenge, there are still 5 events left!
The Cedar 12k Virtual Challenge was as follows:
A. Run challenge: The Bastion Run Club’s namesake is the iconic Bastion located in Nanaimo’s scenic harbour. Run a 12K route that includes an iconic landmark in your own community.
B. Photo challenge: Take a selfie in front of an iconic landmark.
What I love about these challenges is that we are able to be creative. I love looking at everyone’s photos and seeing all the awesome landmarks that people have in their communities.
There is so much more to running than just trying to see how fast we can go and that is why I love the running community.
Here’s how mine went down:
Run Challenge Overview
Once again, I decided not to wander too far away from my house and see about finding a landmark that was within 12k from my place. That’s when I realized that if I go up Lochside, I will run near the life-sized cold-cast statue of retired Roy Hawes, a long-time farmer in the Blenkinsop Valley. If you’re interested, here’s more information about that particular landmark on the CRD Website.
I’m actually quite happy with my pace for this particular challenge. My pace was under 5 minutes per km on average, which is great. Normally, I would go a bit faster than that for an in-person race but for virtual challenges, I usually keep the pace slower than 5 minutes per km.
Above: My Cedar 12k VIRA Island Race Series Virtual Challenge Strava screenshot (to prove I did it)
Photo Challenge Overview
For my photo challenge, I decided to take my selfie in front of the statue of Roy Hawes, which I mentioned earlier. I think this was the first time where I did the photo challenge and the run challenge on the same day.
Just a reminder, there are still 5 events left in the VIRA Island Race Series Virtual Challenge 2021. Want to join the fun? Click here.
Header photo: Heath Moffatt