A Review of Virtual Strides: Quest for the Lost Scroll

I’ll run any distance, any place, and at any time for a shiny race medal.  Even virtual races!  I’ve been adding Virtual Strides medals to my collection for a couple years now, and usually participate whenever they have a pretty medal that I want, or when they’re funding a charity that I want to support.

 

 

If you’re unfamiliar with virtual races, it is customary to complete the race distance on your own time by the end of a specified time period, and you must submit your time to the host company.  Could you just buy a medal and not run it?  Sure.  But any runner worth their salt will earn it by actually running the distance on a treadmill or outside with a GPS watch or app.  I earn medals, there is no other way.

 

 

This month (August 2017) is Quest for the Lost Scroll benefiting Ocean Conservatory and is a kickback to their Quest for the Golden Pearl race that I participated in two summers ago.  The Quest races are also a sweepstakes for free future race entries if a special message is found inside the medal.  I may not gamble, but I don’t mind a sweepstakes once in a while!  And let’s be honest, I’m going to run anyway, so why not enjoy the added incentive?

 

 

Since Houston is now in the dead heat of unbearable summer, I hit the indoor track for this 5k armed with with my virtual bib and running watch.  I ran 90s:60s intervals around the track until I hit the 3.1 mile mark, entered my time in Virtual Strides, and called it a day.

 

 

Surprisingly, the medal came in the mail two days later (so fast!).  While I’m used to the instant gratification of a medal around my neck as soon as I cross the finish line, and treating myself to a burger and a glass of bubbly after organized races, I still celebrated my way and kicked up my feet after work when the medal arrived.  And what a gorgeous medal it is!

 

 

So did I win the Quest?  Sadly, no.  The scroll contained a pirate’s poem and “better luck next time”…so I threw it in my glass like the pirate I am.  Still damn happy to earn this beautiful medal and add it to my growing collection.  This virtual race, as always, was a fun and rewarding experience.  I love the bling!

 

 

Coming soon… How I display my race medals, including expansion racks for virtual races.

 

 

Read about my other adventures in running and gear reviews here.  Happy running!

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