Paws for Fitness Virtual Race benefiting Young-Williams Animal Center

With the Covid-19 Pandemic, we have all had to modify our daily routines to some extent. Most of our effort has been directed toward maintaining our employment duties and/or accomplishing daily routines such as shopping and other necessary chores while taking steps to avoid the pandemic. 

One of the best ways to cope with the stress brought on by this "new normal" is by getting outside for a walk or run. Because of the pandemic, many traditional running events have been cancelled or postponed. One solution for avoiding the dangers of large crowds and still affording participants an opportunity to compete is virtual events. Virtual events allow participants to run solo and still compete.

How does our virtual race work? Between the dates of October 16 and November 16, run or walk the virtual course that you chose when you registered. Our event will offer several virtual versions of walk/run events- a 1 mile walk/run anywhere event utilizing any 1 mile route that the participant chooses, two 5K events - one utilizing any 5K route that the participant chooses and one that will utilize a certified 5K course. Each choice will allow use of the RaceJoy application from RunSignup to capture and record time and distance or a participant can record their time for any of the "run anywhere" courses using their Garmin, FitBit, or whatever method they choose and manually submit their time.

The only requirement for the "run anywhere" events is that the participants complete the walk/run in one session. Participants may utilize the RaceJoy application to record their time and distance or they can manually record and submit their time. We will post the time on the RunSignUp and Total Race Solutions sites. No awards for the "run anywhere" events.

The participants who choose the Walk/Run on a certified course option will be required to walk/run a certified course. We have chosen a USATF certified course that starts and ends in Tyson Park in Knoxville, TN. The course is an out and back course that utilizes the greenway and some streets on the UT Ag Campus. The USATF certification number is TN19070MS. Click here to view the course map and description. In order to be eligible for awards, the participant must utilize the RaceJoy Application to record their time. Awards will be given to the top m/f finishers in this event.

We know from experience that having a companion for these activities makes the effort more enjoyable. For those of us who are lucky enough to own a dog, we have the perfect companion. We encourage participants to walk/run with their dog for any of the virtual events. If a participant decides to walk/run the certified course with their dog and they want their dog to be eligible for an award, they should register their dog for one of the certified 5K course dog categories. In order to qualify as a team, the human team member must be registered first. As part of the registration process, they can set up a team. The dog can then be registered and added to the team.  The total registration fee of both the dog and the human will be $30. We will only have teams consisting of one dog and one human. We will post the time for both of the team members and both team members will be eligible for awards-overall m/f for the human and top dog for each of the size categories. The human participant will receive a 50/50 blend shirt and the dog will receive a silicone travel pet bowl. REMEMBER THAT EACH TEAM MEMBER MUST REGISTER AT THE SAME TIME USING THE SAME CREDIT CARD AND THE HUMAN MUST BE REGISTERED FIRST. 

Participants will be able to post their individual results either using the RaceJoy application or manually beginning at 12:00 AM on October 16, 2020 and ending at 11:59 PM on November 16, 2020. Only results captured and posted on the RaceJoy application will be eligible for awards on the certified 5K course.

Manual results may be posted as follows:

Visit the Paws for Fitness Virtual Race page at https://runsignup.com/Race/TN/Knoxville/PawsforFitnessChallenge

Make sure you are logged in.
Locate the "Results" tab at the top of the menu.
Click the "Submit Virtual Results" button.
Next search for your registration either by first and last name or by email address and date of birth. 
Once you have found your registration, select "Submit Virtual Results" and enter your finish time.

We will include RaceJoy utilization for this event to each registered participant as part of the registration fee. Each registered participant will receive detailed instructions on using the RaceJoy application. We have also posted those instructions on this page. The RaceJoy application utilizes a smart phone's gps capability to record distance and time. Instructions for RaceJoy utilization for virtual events are as follows:

Download RaceJoy from the App Store or Google Play.

Find Race: Click Featured Races to access the event you are doing or search by name in the search field.
Set Up Tracking: Click I Want to Be Tracked and follow the prompts carefully. Select the course(s) you plan to complete.
Enter Your Bib Number for Results: For events offering virtual scored results, enter your bib number provided to you by the race. RaceJoy will then automatically submit your finish data.
Ensure Proper Settings: Follow RaceJoy's prompts and adjust settings as needed.

Virtual Race Day: Click TRACK ME: Make sure to click the green blinking TrackMe button on race day to start the tracking of your phone.
Select the course you are about to do.
For Virtual Courses, Click START MY RACE as you begin your walk/run to start your personal clock.
RaceJoy auto detects when you complete the course distance. No need to click Finish.

Race Redo for Virtual Events: You have the option to redo a course by clicking the redo button. This is only available for virtual events or on-site events with expanded race dates. Warning: Selecting the redo button will clear previous performance data.

Proceeds from this event will benefit the Young-Williams Animal Center.