Garmin

Ready to participate in a virtual run? How do you feel about attending a virtual expo?

Several marathon's are now promoting their virtual runs to runners who might have used up all their vacation time and can't fly out to participate in a race, or for racers who can't afford to travel to a race, or for the competitive runners who know they don't have to be at the physical location to annihilate a healthy portion of the field with their fast feet.

How do you run a virtual race?

1. On race day (give or take a day, sometimes) for your chosen marathon or event run.
2. Trace/create your route using MayMyRun.com's mapping tools or upload your data using Nike+, Garmin, your iPhone or a host of other GPS devices into MayMyRun. More detailed instructions are here.
3. Submit your race data and your reports will appear on a leaderboard.

Upcoming Virtual Marathons

What: Silicon Valley Marathon
Where: Wherever you want it to be
Date: Oct. 19-28
Distance: 26.2 miles
Cost: unknown
Register: Click here 

Attend the Silicon Valley Marathon Virtual Expo

What: Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff Virtual Run
Where: Wherever you want it to be
Date: Oct. 23-25
Distance: 5 miles
Cost: unknown
Register: Click here

What: 1st Annual Virtual Marathon
Where: Wherever you want it to be
Date: November 1-3
Distance: 3-26.2 miles
Cost: unknown
Register: Click here

What: Spirit of Pittsburgh Half Marathon
Where: Wherever you want it to be
Date: Oct. 31-Nov. 2
Distance: 13.1 miles
Cost: $40
Register: Click here
 

I spent a wonderful Labor Day weekend up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with my husband and several friends.

On Sunday I ran my long run following a portion of the public trail that circles the lake. 

To create this map I used my Garmin 405 to record my route (yes, I remembered to wear it); exported the data to TrailRunner (this is also where the red trail highlighting was added), screen-captured the map, and finally, resized and cropped it using CS3 (Photoshop).

Miles ran - 16

All of the links below will lead you to FREE online tools that will help you reach your PB faster. Enjoy!

There may come a time, and for your sake I hope it doesn't, when the media hounds come calling for all the wrong reasons.

Verbal gaffs happen. Unfavorable photos of you on estranged friend's Facebook accounts will be discovered.

One picture of you at a party in college passed out on a floor drunk will certainly turn off some on your fans.

One picture that leads to dozens of similarly situated photos of you is a PR nightmare.

Fight back against bad PR - as many celebrities have shown, it may be exactly what you need to get back into the spotlight.