HHH Virtual Races (VR)

Virtual Racing - what’s it all about?

With lockdowns and the suspension of both Club activities and the busy Sussex racing scene there is little to get the competitive juices going.  So, following England Athletics' guidelines, we have been holding a series of Virtual Race Events.

Usually, a Strava segment is in place for the route and we use these to track your race times across the event window.  Please remind yourselves of the route and importantly take note of the need to start running (and your watch!) a little before the start line and continue running beyond the finish line before stopping your watch.  More details are provided under the heading 'What Entrants have to do' below.

Throughout the event period, results are normally posted on our club News page and shared via the club Whatsapp Beetroot Chat. 

Please take note of the Health & Safety guidance provided lower down on this page, and importantly, government guidelines for exercising apply and we must follow these.  Runners should not be competing in groups larger than two, and this must be in a socially distant manner.  If you happen to be starting, running or finishing at the same time as other runners, please do not congregate in numbers larger than two!

If you have any questions, or technical issues then please contact Ben Gibson via WhatsApp or email ([email protected]).

Results

See the News item.

Events have typically involved:

  • Event courses: varied distances and terrain types
  • An “Event Window” defined by the organisers during which time the racing must be completed
  • Some events  allow entrants to choose the course(s) that they want to run on, others are specific by the club
  • There have been a variety of recognitions: male/female, fastest time, age graded score, series score, special awards

What Entrants have to do

Courses are usually set up as “Segments” on Strava and we use Strava’s data set to capture Entrants’ times over the courses.  Therefore, Entrants should:

  • Have an account with Strava (free version is all that is needed)
  • Have joined the Haywards Heath Harriers Strava club. So search for Haywards Heath Harriers on the Strava app and join. Check the privacy settings.
  • Be able to record their runs on a watch/phone and be able to upload to Strava
  • Take note of the course route they wish to run  (Health & Safety points, location of start and finish – see below).  Running the course on Strava will mean that it will automatically record your time over the course.
  • Do a run including the course. Make sure that:
    • Your GPS device is active well before the official start line (e.g. start this 40m beforehand)
    • You don’t stop your GPS device until you are well through the official finish line (e.g stop this 40m afterwards)

If you follow your usual approach of starting/stopping your device as you cross the “line” you risk a GPS precision error meaning you get “no result” for your efforts!  Sorry!  You’ll have to wait to see what Strava gives you as your official time.

If your run details have not been recorded or you do not see your name on the results sheet (please give it a while so we have had chance to update the results page!), then please contact the race organiser if stated.  If not, then please send an email to [email protected]

Any questions also to the race organiser (club email address if not stated) or use the WhatsApp group 'Beetroot Chat'.

General Health & Safety guidance for runners

  • Try not to drive to the race start
  • Tell someone where you are going and keep your mobile phone with you
  • Be visible if running in poor light
  • Maintain Social Distancing Rules at ALL times. This is particularly important at the start of the race
  • Give way to pedestrians EVERY time.  Take extra care if you have to run in the road
  • Be vigilant at all junctions - Give way to ALL cars - you may come off worse if you don’t
  • Look out for street ‘furniture’ such as bins, kerbs, potholes, etc
  • Give way to dog walkers and dogs
  • Do NOT start your run with another entrant (unless a family member/someone you live with).  Take an extra warmup/stretch  for as long as you think appropriate until that runner is well ahead

What will happen “in the background”

Strava will show a “Course Leaderboard” which you can view using the club filter e.g = Haywards Heath Harriers

Our HHH tame statisticians will collate your times offline / determine age grading etc and publish results on the HHH website and add commentary on our social media sites (Haywards Heath Harriers Facebook and Beetroot Whatsapp groups)

What you can also do

 You can add to the fun and build club spirit by:

    •             Commenting on the 'Beetroot Chat' WhatsApp
    •             Giving “Kudos” and appropriate comments on Strava