#001 – Welcome to Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast. Inspire Virtual Runs brings running tips, personal stories, and fitness information. Running offers so many benefits, but motivation is not always there. Inspire Virtual Runs is a running community to inspire you to run and reap those benefits. Whether you or new to running or preparing for your next race, Inspire Virtual Runs Podcast will help you along your journey. Richard Conner introduces the podcast and community where you will find tips and motivation you need to run.
Topics Covered:
- Introducing IVR founder, Richard Conner
- How Inspire Virtual Runs started
- Why run virtual races
- What to expect from future episodes
Richard Conner
Richard is a strategic marketing professional with experience in B2B marketing. Richard is the founder of Inspire Virtual Runs and is passionate about helping others reach their goals. He is a Connecticut native and is a husband, dad, writer, Star Wars fan, and of course – runner! Richard recently discovered obstacle course racing and has fully embraced this new obsession.
Inspire Virtual Runs community:
Website: https://www.inspiretorun.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/inspirevrs
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/inspirevirtualruns/ Thanks and look forward to our first guest interview!
Join our community and be sure to hit subscribe!
Intro/Outro 0:02
Welcome to Inspire virtual runs podcast. Whether you are new to running or seasoned, get tips in the inspiration that you need to achieve your health and fitness goals. Now, here’s your host Richard Conner.
Richard Conner 0:18
Hi, everyone, and welcome to the Inspire virtual runs Podcast. I am your host Richard Conner. And this is our very first episode. I’m super excited because I love to run. And I hope to inspire you to run through this podcast. Let me start by introducing the show myself. And what you can expect from this podcast. Inspire virtual runs is a community where we share running tips, personal stories, and fitness information to inspire you to run. I’m excited, because now I can bring these stories to you through this podcast. You can listen to it when you’re at home, on the road, or even better. While you’re running. I’ll share a little bit more about what to expect later. But for now, I’d like to talk about who this podcast is for. I created this community and podcast for runners and those aspiring to run, whether it’s for health reasons, or just something you’ve always wanted to do. Whether you are new to running, or preparing for your next race, we want to help you achieve your goals. So I’ll share a little bit about myself. I’m a husband, I’m a dad, marketer, writer, Star Wars fan. And of course runner. I’ve been running for many years, but I took a long break in between. So let me take a moment to share my story about how I fell in love with running and how it led me to where I am today. And my story takes us back to high school. I was just a teenage kid trying to find his way in the world. I wasn’t very good at many sports had a lot of trouble with I hand coordination. And as you can imagine, that rules out a lot of opportunities or a lot of sports that I wasn’t very good at through the recommendation of a friend, I found cross country running. Now for those of you who are listening, you can remember those days when you want it to be a part of something. And this was it for me. I wasn’t very fast. But I found that I was something that I could actually do well, and I enjoyed it. I ran for three years from my sophomore to senior year. And then I ran track in the offseason, I ran longer distances. And the things I loved about cross country I loved being outside, running the trails, being with my friends. Least favorite parts of cross country were those rainy days where we had to run inside the school. There are a lot of stairs involved, or those days where we had to do speed work. And we had this pulley system that was scary. But overall love the experience. And then I kind of stopped after that. After high school life got in the way. I had work, college, and kids and running just fell by the wayside. So a number of years later, I learned that my high school hosted these five k runs every year. And I finally went back after many years. And if you could imagine the nostalgia, the memories, seeing former teachers. It was really nice. And I ran those races for some time. But it really just wasn’t enough for me. I didn’t train except the occasional jog on the treadmill. And back at that time, I didn’t have any desire to run 10 K’s half marathons, full marathons. I just didn’t have that motivation. So then a couple of years ago, I overheard my friend talking about Spartan and at the time, I had no idea what Spartan was. I learned that it’s an obstacle course races. And as I read more about it, I got excited. It was actually the motivation that I needed to start training again. Then I started to share my story and my experience with others. I saw how my story inspired others to get back into fitness. They would occasionally asked me, how’s your training going? How is your last race? When is your next race? And I thought about how I could help others by sharing my story. Better yet? How could I create a community where people inspire each other. And that’s really how inspire virtual run started. It’s been an amazing journey. And really, this community has, in turn inspired me. And I’ll share with you a quick story how, during one of my workouts, I had intended to run for miles. And I’ll tell you, I almost quit. As soon as I started. I wanted to cut back to two miles, and I had all of the usual excuses. It’s too hot. I haven’t eaten enough. I’m not hydrated. Then I remembered that I made a commitment to my inspire virtual runs community earlier that week. And while I was running, I said to myself, I have to do this, I have to complete this run. This community helps me stay accountable. And I completed my four mile run. That’s inspired virtual runs. So you may be thinking, Well, why virtual, you can run by yourself. But you don’t have to go it alone. connecting with others, virtually who are on a similar journey, in my opinion, just makes the experience better. And it provides that accountability, just like the story that I just shared. There is another element to virtual runs, and that is virtual races. I started the community not only to run, but to use races like a five k as a goal, something that you can aspire to do. Now virtual races are in particular are a nice alternative to live races. Virtual races are a lot like in person road races. The main difference is that you’re not racing in large crowds. No, it does it only mean treadmills. And no, it doesn’t mean virtual reality goggles. And it’s actually more popular than you may think. And a recent survey that I conducted 24% of the respondents who are runners ran virtual races. Now why virtual races versus live races? Given these current times with the pandemic, virtual races are becoming a lot more popular. Live races are being canceled. And obviously a virtual race allows for social distancing. Also pre or post pandemic, I think virtual races are still a great option. Let’s say that you’re not really into racing for competition, or you don’t want to be in a situation where you’re running with a lot of people. Let’s say you’re shy about running in a live race, virtual races are a great option. So here are a few things about virtual races as to why I think you should consider them. One is motivation, right? A race gives you something to work towards. And a reason to train to is flexibility. You can run where you want when you want. Next is ease. There’s no fuss, no long registration lines. There’s also again the added benefit of social distancing and and staying safe. All you have to do is find a virtual race online, sign up for the race and then run the distance. You can also use an activity tracker to verify your distance and your time. Many people post their results and their pictures. They you can share your experience with your friends and family. There’s really a lot that you can do with a virtual race. So now what’s coming what’s next for inspire virtual runs podcast. I think you’re in for a treat. We will have a combination of shows where I will share my personal story, and journey and other shows where I will interview guests. Guests will include people like you and me, runners or those who are on their way to becoming runners, and sharing their success story. We will also host experts in the areas of running, and fitness and nutrition. So I’ll leave you with one last thought. Running offers so many health benefits, but I get it. The motivation is not always there. Before you start running, think about your why. To be healthy, that’s good. That’s a good one. But to be healthy for myself, and my family is better. This one is mine by the way. Another one of mine is to reach fitness goals that have always strived to achieve. Think about your why, and let that be your motivation on the days that you do not feel like running. So with that, I want to wrap up by saying thank you so much for listening to our first episode. I’d love it if you take a moment and click the subscribe button. Thanks again for listening and until next time.
Intro/Outro 11:28
That’s it for this episode of inspire virtual runs podcasts. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review. Also, be sure to click the subscribe button so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks for listening Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Welcome to Inspire virtual runs podcast. Whether you are new to running or seasoned, get tips in the inspiration that you need to achieve your health and fitness goals. Now, here’s your host Richard Conner.
Richard Conner 0:18
Hi, everyone, and welcome to the Inspire virtual runs Podcast. I am your host Richard Conner. And this is our very first episode. I’m super excited because I love to run. And I hope to inspire you to run through this podcast. Let me start by introducing the show myself. And what you can expect from this podcast. Inspire virtual runs is a community where we share running tips, personal stories, and fitness information to inspire you to run. I’m excited, because now I can bring these stories to you through this podcast. You can listen to it when you’re at home, on the road, or even better. While you’re running. I’ll share a little bit more about what to expect later. But for now, I’d like to talk about who this podcast is for. I created this community and podcast for runners and those aspiring to run, whether it’s for health reasons, or just something you’ve always wanted to do. Whether you are new to running, or preparing for your next race, we want to help you achieve your goals. So I’ll share a little bit about myself. I’m a husband, I’m a dad, marketer, writer, Star Wars fan. And of course runner. I’ve been running for many years, but I took a long break in between. So let me take a moment to share my story about how I fell in love with running and how it led me to where I am today. And my story takes us back to high school. I was just a teenage kid trying to find his way in the world. I wasn’t very good at many sports had a lot of trouble with I hand coordination. And as you can imagine, that rules out a lot of opportunities or a lot of sports that I wasn’t very good at through the recommendation of a friend, I found cross country running. Now for those of you who are listening, you can remember those days when you want it to be a part of something. And this was it for me. I wasn’t very fast. But I found that I was something that I could actually do well, and I enjoyed it. I ran for three years from my sophomore to senior year. And then I ran track in the offseason, I ran longer distances. And the things I loved about cross country I loved being outside, running the trails, being with my friends. Least favorite parts of cross country were those rainy days where we had to run inside the school. There are a lot of stairs involved, or those days where we had to do speed work. And we had this pulley system that was scary. But overall love the experience. And then I kind of stopped after that. After high school life got in the way. I had work, college, and kids and running just fell by the wayside. So a number of years later, I learned that my high school hosted these five k runs every year. And I finally went back after many years. And if you could imagine the nostalgia, the memories, seeing former teachers. It was really nice. And I ran those races for some time. But it really just wasn’t enough for me. I didn’t train except the occasional jog on the treadmill. And back at that time, I didn’t have any desire to run 10 K’s half marathons, full marathons. I just didn’t have that motivation. So then a couple of years ago, I overheard my friend talking about Spartan and at the time, I had no idea what Spartan was. I learned that it’s an obstacle course races. And as I read more about it, I got excited. It was actually the motivation that I needed to start training again. Then I started to share my story and my experience with others. I saw how my story inspired others to get back into fitness. They would occasionally asked me, how’s your training going? How is your last race? When is your next race? And I thought about how I could help others by sharing my story. Better yet? How could I create a community where people inspire each other. And that’s really how inspire virtual run started. It’s been an amazing journey. And really, this community has, in turn inspired me. And I’ll share with you a quick story how, during one of my workouts, I had intended to run for miles. And I’ll tell you, I almost quit. As soon as I started. I wanted to cut back to two miles, and I had all of the usual excuses. It’s too hot. I haven’t eaten enough. I’m not hydrated. Then I remembered that I made a commitment to my inspire virtual runs community earlier that week. And while I was running, I said to myself, I have to do this, I have to complete this run. This community helps me stay accountable. And I completed my four mile run. That’s inspired virtual runs. So you may be thinking, Well, why virtual, you can run by yourself. But you don’t have to go it alone. connecting with others, virtually who are on a similar journey, in my opinion, just makes the experience better. And it provides that accountability, just like the story that I just shared. There is another element to virtual runs, and that is virtual races. I started the community not only to run, but to use races like a five k as a goal, something that you can aspire to do. Now virtual races are in particular are a nice alternative to live races. Virtual races are a lot like in person road races. The main difference is that you’re not racing in large crowds. No, it does it only mean treadmills. And no, it doesn’t mean virtual reality goggles. And it’s actually more popular than you may think. And a recent survey that I conducted 24% of the respondents who are runners ran virtual races. Now why virtual races versus live races? Given these current times with the pandemic, virtual races are becoming a lot more popular. Live races are being canceled. And obviously a virtual race allows for social distancing. Also pre or post pandemic, I think virtual races are still a great option. Let’s say that you’re not really into racing for competition, or you don’t want to be in a situation where you’re running with a lot of people. Let’s say you’re shy about running in a live race, virtual races are a great option. So here are a few things about virtual races as to why I think you should consider them. One is motivation, right? A race gives you something to work towards. And a reason to train to is flexibility. You can run where you want when you want. Next is ease. There’s no fuss, no long registration lines. There’s also again the added benefit of social distancing and and staying safe. All you have to do is find a virtual race online, sign up for the race and then run the distance. You can also use an activity tracker to verify your distance and your time. Many people post their results and their pictures. They you can share your experience with your friends and family. There’s really a lot that you can do with a virtual race. So now what’s coming what’s next for inspire virtual runs podcast. I think you’re in for a treat. We will have a combination of shows where I will share my personal story, and journey and other shows where I will interview guests. Guests will include people like you and me, runners or those who are on their way to becoming runners, and sharing their success story. We will also host experts in the areas of running, and fitness and nutrition. So I’ll leave you with one last thought. Running offers so many health benefits, but I get it. The motivation is not always there. Before you start running, think about your why. To be healthy, that’s good. That’s a good one. But to be healthy for myself, and my family is better. This one is mine by the way. Another one of mine is to reach fitness goals that have always strived to achieve. Think about your why, and let that be your motivation on the days that you do not feel like running. So with that, I want to wrap up by saying thank you so much for listening to our first episode. I’d love it if you take a moment and click the subscribe button. Thanks again for listening and until next time.
Intro/Outro 11:28
That’s it for this episode of inspire virtual runs podcasts. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review. Also, be sure to click the subscribe button so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks for listening Transcribed by https://otter.ai