Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club Presses Play on 2021 Virtual Racing Schedule and New Features

January 9, 2021

- Participants are encouraged to make 2021 a Record Year by setting personal monthly goals and track contribution to the Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC online community’s total distance - New monthly challenges built to inspire those looking to stay motivated and accomplish their goals throughout 2021 - Press play this January with the four FREE VR races to kick off the New Year

TAMPA, Fla. – With 2020 in the rear-view mirror, set the bar high in 2021 and aim for a record year. Through the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Virtual Running Club™ (VRC™), participants will be able to take on fun, inspiring, and motivating monthly community challenges as they track how far the entire community goes, as well as the distances each participant individually contributes towards the new the Record Year challenge. Participants will be pressing play on the new year starting with Rock ‘n’ Roll VR1 featuring a 5K taking place on Jan. 8 – 10. Registration for the January 2021 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC events are currently open and available for FREE to the entire global community at runrocknrollvr.com.

What’s New This Year?

The Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club will be rolling out different monthly themes, challenges, as well as a new Record Year monthly check-in to help runners stay driven and active throughout 2021 as they achieve a goal together.

• Record Year: No matter what 2021 brings, participants are encouraged to go for their Record Year on the run with the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC. This community-based challenge allows participants to contribute mileage towards a tracking log each month, inspiring individuals to see how far they’ve gone over the entire year of 2021. Beginning in January and each month throughout the entire year, aim to go further than the previous month. Each run or walk, no matter how far you go will count towards your yearly total and the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC community’s total. A series of fun, inspiring, and motivating monthly community challenges will help participants stay motivated towards setting a record year. Participants will receive a digital badge upon the close of the challenge window on the final day of each month. Learn more about the Record Year challenge by visiting here.
• Monthly Challenges: Participants can take part in themed monthly challenges throughout the year. Whether runners want to run a marathon in a month, revisit their benchmarks, break their personal records, or go one more mile each week, the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC monthly challenges will inspire those looking to stay motivated throughout 2021.

Press Play this January

Every month, the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC will roll out a new theme to help participants dial in their workouts and make the most of the miles logged. Keep moving with the motivating weekly workouts, the free virtual races, or the support from the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC online community. Throughout this all, participants will be rewarded for every step they take, rack up the points, and earn credits to cash in for awesome rewards.

This January is all about getting started, and the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC is ready to Press Play with the first four virtual running races of the year, steadily increasing in distance each week. Runners and walkers can mark their calendars for these FREE virtual races:

• Rock ‘n’ Roll VR1 5K – January 8-10
• Rock ‘n’ Roll VR2 6K – January 15-17
• Bose Rock ‘n’ Roll VR3 7K – January 22-24
• Rock ‘n’ Roll VR4 8K – January 29-31

Participants can sign up for the first Rock ‘n’ Roll VR races of the year by visiting: runrocknrollvr.com/challenges.

Getting Started

To register for a Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club Challenge, runners or walkers only need to sign up through the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC platform and connect to their tracker app. Runners can then complete their registration by going to the “Events” tab and clicking “Register Now” for free on the virtual race page.

Giving Back – Rock This Town^® 

Last year, with the support of Ambassadors, TEAM IMF Athletes, and partners, Rock This Town^® and the IRONMAN Foundation provided over $675,000 in grant funding to more than 450 local, regional, national, and global nonprofit initiatives throughout Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series^®, IRONMAN^® and IRONMAN 70.3^® race communities. In 2021, Rock This Town and the IRONMAN Foundation^®, will continue their mission to create positive, tangible change in race communities around the world, despite the devastating impact of COVID-19. The fifth round of IRONAID^TM COVID-19 Support Fund grants as well as the new 2021 IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund grant program will be announced in late January 2021. For more information about the IRONMAN Foundation, visit www.ironmanfoundation.org.

Looking Back – Over the Holidays

Throughout the month of December, the Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC offered three challenges to help participants stay active and in the holiday spirit. The 12 Days of 5Ks offered 12 sessions of a 5K (3.1 miles) or more through Dec. 25; The Final Countdown gave runners the perfect way to bring in the New Year by running at least 21 miles by midnight on Dec. 31; and The Resolution Run Series provided participants the perfect way to kick off year with 5K, 10K and 21K distances.

By the Numbers

• In total over 16,000 people from 95 nations and 46 states participated in the three holiday challenges
• More than 4,500 people stepped up to the challenge of running or walking 12 Days of 5Ks
• More than 3,500 people rounded out the year by running or walking The Final Countdown Challenge
• More than 8,500 people kicked off the New Year by running or walking the Resolution Run Series
• Participants in the three holiday challenges came from around the world and ranged in age from 19 to 83
• The United States led the way with over 12,000 walkers and runners followed by United Kingdom (over 600), Canada (over 550), Mexico (over 400), and Portugal (over 200)
• Other nations represented included Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Kazakhstan, India, Morocco, Singapore, Spain, Panama, and Qatar, among others
• Of the 46 U.S. states represented during the three holiday challenges, the greatest number came from California, followed by Texas, Virginia, Arizona, and Florida

Full details and specifics regarding the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club and Challenges are available on www.runrocknrollvr.com. For more information on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, please visit the website at www.runrocknroll.com. Media related inquiries may be directed to press@runrocknroll.com.

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About Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club

The Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll^® Virtual Running Club™ (VRC™) is a web-based platform allowing runners to engage, connect, earn rewards, and compete in Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ (VR™) Series events that include a distance for everyone from virtually anywhere in the world. Rock ‘n’ Roll VR continues to see thousands of runners and walkers register for the virtual start line each week. Having grown to over 63,000 subscribers from over 145 nations, since its launch in April of 2020, the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC brings the global running community together. Additional details can be found on the Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC platform at www.runrocknrollvr.com.

About Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series^® is the world’s largest running series taking part in over 30 destination events around the world every year. Established in 1998, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series’s simple idea of making running fun has transformed both the U.S. and global running landscape by infusing the course with live bands, cheer teams and entertaining water stations, creating a block-party atmosphere for participants and spectators alike. Focused on running, music and community, race weekend kicks off with a free Health & Fitness Expo showcasing the latest in running gear, sports apparel, health and nutritional information and much more. Events culminate with an entertaining finish-line festival featuring some of the biggest names in music, with past performances including Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, O.A.R. Aloe Blacc, Pitbull, Flo Rida, The Band Perry, Fitz and the Tantrums, the Goo Goo Dolls and Bret Michaels. Further information about the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series can be found online at www.RunRocknRoll.com and follow @RunRocknRoll on all social platforms.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series^®, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS^®, ITU World Triathlon Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf^®, Ultra-Trail^® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance (www.advance.com), a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.