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Rock ‘N’ Roll Virtual Running Club Celebrates the Holiday Season with Three New Challenges Offering 12 Days of 5KS, The Final Countdown To 2021 and the Resolution Run Series

December 16, 2020

More than 137,000 runners and walkers attempted to race more than 1,283,000 miles across all distances and Remix challenges of the 15 stop Rock ‘n’ Road Trip

TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 16, 2020) As the excitement of Rock ‘n’ Road Trip wraps up following its final stop in San Diego, California, the Rock ‘n’ Roll® Virtual Running™ (VR™) Club is kicking off three new challenges to help participants stay active and in the holiday spirit throughout December and into the New Year. Currently open and available for FREE to the entire global community, 12 Days of 5Ks is offering 12 sessions of a 5K (3.1 miles) or more through Dec. 25. Starting on Dec. 26, The Final Countdown challenge will give runners the perfect way to bring in the New Year, by running at least 21 miles by midnight, PST (3:00 a.m. ET) Dec. 31. Finally, opening on Jan. 1 participants can set their goals for the New Year by taking on the Resolution Run Series providing 5K, 10K and 21K distances.

A Holiday of Challenges

While it may be tempting to stay on the couch during the holiday season after a difficult year, the Rock n Roll Virtual Running Club is providing achievable challenges to help participants remain motivated and active.

  • 12 Days of 5Ks: From Dec.1 through Dec. 25, Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club is challenging participants to take the 12 Days of 5Ks challenge by completing 12 runs of 5 km (3.1 miles) or longer while earning a digital badge and points towards rewards, including the limited edition ugly sweater and holiday finisher medal in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Store. To learn how to run like Rudolph with 12 Days of 5Ks and make each run even more festive visit here.
  • The Final Countdown: The countdown to 2021 is on and it could not come sooner. Beginning on Dec. 26, participants can complete The Final Countdown by running or walking at least 21 miles by midnight PST Dec. 31 to earn a digital badge and points towards rewards. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club recommends splitting it up into a New Year’s Eve style countdown: six miles, five miles, four miles, three miles, two miles and a final one mile before the ball drops.
  • Resolution Run Series: Participants can set their goals for 2021 and start working towards them with a series of workouts over New Year’s weekend. Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club will be offering the Get Going 5K, Get Fit 10K and Go Farther 21K between Jan. 1 at 5 a.m. ET and 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021 to help ready runners for the season ahead and kick off the New Year on the right foot. In addition, five lucky finishers will win a free entry to a live Rock ‘n’ Roll 5K in 2021.

Milestone Markers

As participants look back on 2020, Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club encourages them to see how far they have come on the run by checking their annual mileage in their profile. Runners and walkers can now reward themselves for hitting key mileage goals this year with Milestone Medal Collection from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Store.

Getting Started

To register for a Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club Challenge, runners or walkers only need to sign up through the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Club 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.

Looking Back – Rock ‘n’ Road Trip

The Rock ‘n’ Road Trip concluded its 15-stop virtual running tour across the United States in triumphant style with a visit home to the original Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series event in San Diego, Calif. that saw more than 6,400 participants undertake the virtual visit to America’s Finest City.

In the absence of in-person Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rock ‘n’ Road Trip entered the virtual race scene visiting many of the most popular Rock ‘n’ Roll communities and offering runners and walkers the opportunity to stay active and connected with the running community by participating in virtual Rock ‘n’ Roll events across the country.

Over the course of the four-month tour, over 137,000 runners and walkers attempted to complete more than 1,283,000 across all distances and Remix challenges offered across the 15 destinations around of the United States. Participants represented all 50 states and 146 nations. Amazingly, 411 participants completed at least one distance in all 15 stops on the Rock ‘n’ Road Trip.

Bose Rock ‘n’ Roll VR San Diego: By the Numbers

  • Bose Rock ‘n’ Roll VR San Diego offered distances of a Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K along with the Remix Challenge
  • More than 6,400 people from 82 nations and 46 states stepped up to the virtual start line for the Rock ‘n’ Roll VR Series’ Rock ‘n’ Road Trip in San Diego, California.
  • Participants for Bose Rock ‘n’ Roll VR San Diego came from around the world and ranged in age from 19 to 83.
  • The United States led the way with over 4,700 walkers and runners followed by United Kingdom (over 225), Canada and Mexico both with (over 200), and Portugal (over 80).
  • Other nations represented included Australia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, South Korea among others.
  • Of the 46 U.S. states represented at Bose Rock ‘n’ Roll VR San Diego, the greatest numbers came from California followed by Texas, Arizona, Virginia, and Florida. 

Giving Back – Rock This Town®

Rock This Town® and the IRONMAN Foundation® have continued their mission of creating positive tangible change in race communities throughout 2020, despite the devastating impact of COVID-19 around the world. To date, over $500,000 in IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund grants have been distributed to over 160 health-related charitable organizations; including the Las Vegas Kiwanis Young Professionals who provided bags filled with school supplies and hygiene products to middle school students in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas community. An additional 70 organizations received support through Operation IRONAID Face Masks in partnership with Framebridge and Good360; including the Nashville Rescue Mission, which received 8,000 masks for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville community. Through Operation IRONAID Nutrition, 49 food banks located throughout race communities received food donations to feed individuals facing hunger; including America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia Food Bank, which received nearly 250 pounds of food to fulfill nutritional needs of families in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah community. Additionally, in conjunction with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Turkey Trot, $16,000 was distributed to Feeding America. Rock This Town and the IRONMAN Foundation are accepting applications for the fifth round of IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund grants until 11:59 p.m. ET on December 15, 2020. For more information about IRONAID visit ironmanfoundation.org/ironaid.

Since first launched in April, the Rock ‘n’ Roll VR Series has seen thousands of runners and walkers from around the world register for the virtual start line each week. The Rock ‘n’ Roll VR Running Series is offered exclusively through the Rock ‘n’ Roll VRC, an interactive web-based platform allowing runners to race, engage and connect with a new series of weekly races, challenges, and rewards. To date, over 63,000 subscribers from over 145 nations have joined the platform.

Full details and specifics regarding the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running Series, 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 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 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.