Don’t ask me how I stumbled upon it, but let me tell ya – this whole virtual running thing is – shall we say – mucho cool stuff.  Too bad my first one wasn’t!  By the time I finally got my dupa out on the road for my Beat The Heat 10k benefiting Girls on the Run, it felt like I walked out into a solid wall of steam.  97 degrees plus in the sun, (and it was a BIG plus), and who knows what on the humidity scale, did not make for what could be considered “ideal” running conditions.  Okay, now that I’m done whining and making excuses for my less than stellar results, (1:03.10),  the fact that I did help – even in a tiny way – an awesome-sauce organization, made all the sweat, runner belly, and lead legs, feel a little bit better.

Hello pretty.

What’s super duper cool is the website I found this race on, JostRunning.com, not only offers a number of different races and distances at any given time, you can also keep track of your training, upload your race results, and see where you finished in relation to other runners participating in the same event.  Cool beans!  Or in this case, popsicles!

The best part of Jost races?  Not only is the bling pretty darn sweet, (and NOT sticky), you can choose which charity you want to run for.  As of today, there are three different charities, Camp Promise, NYRR Team for Kids, and the Midwest Food Bank, all with distance options of anywhere from a 5k all the way up to a full marathon.

Wanna go the distance?

I look at it this way.  You’re running the distance anyway – especially if you’re in training for something like, oh, say, the Wine and Dine Half Marathon.  So why not do something bigger than yourself, pay it forward, and earn some sweet medals, all while you’re training?  It’s pretty much a no-brainer.

So head on over to Jost Running, check out their funny bunny blog while you’re there, and sign up for a race.  Or two.  Or six.  Oh wait, that’s me.  What can I say, I have a lot of empty pegs in my bling room.

Enjoy the ride.

Do you like the idea of being a part of something bigger than yourself?  Are you a bling junkie too?