By Harry Minium
Most of us are stuck indoors all day, working from home, taking care of kids or practicing social distancing in an office. Because gyms are closed and parks where we might seek fresh air and exercise are largely shut down, many of us aren't getting enough exercise.
ODU has a solution to help you this weekend. Go to the J&A racing site and register for the MSP Design Group Virtual Big Blue 5-K presented by Bon Secours.
To register, click below.
Registration closes at 7 a.m. Saturday and the race begins at 9, but actually, you can run the race at any time Saturday.
This is a virtual race where you choose your course, even if it's your treadmill, and then enter a time on the J&A Racing Web site.
Although this is a virtual event, it's truly a race. New ODU football coach Ricky Rahne ran a virtual race ahead of time in State College, Pa., home of Penn State, where he was offensive coordinator last season. He and his family will soon be moving to their new home in Norfolk.
He ran much of the race with his sons, Ryder and Jake, while his wife, Jennifer, recorded the race on her cell phone.
And although he claims to be out of shape, he ran a pretty respectable time of 26 minutes and seven seconds. That's about eight minutes and 40 seconds per mile.
Your goal is to beat Rahne and J&A Racing is will give you a head start. You will be allowed to trim five minutes off the time you post. If you beat Rahne, J&A will make a donation to the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation, the private group that raises money for ODU athletics.
All money raised from the race will go to fund scholarships for athletes.
Last year, more than 2,500 people, including kids (there's also a 1-K run) gathered near the L.R. Hill football workout facility and ran the race, which snaked through ODU's campus.
The 3.1-mile run is an event that's always been popular with families and drew ODU alumni and fans together at the post-race party, where food and adult beverages, good conversation and good cheer were plentiful.
Like so many events in our lives, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event to cancel the physical race. But J&A and ODU quickly decided to make it a virtual run.
You will be able to post your time online and in about a week you will receive a T-shirt, medal, race bib, koozie, a $10 coupon good for a future J&A racing event and a goodie bag.
Many of ODU's other coaches also joined the race, including most of Rahne's assistant coaches.
"Our coaches wanted to encourage people to get out of the house, to run, do something that's fun and support Old Dominion," said Dr. Jason Chandler, Associate Athletic Director of Strategic Marketing & Revenue Generation.
J&A racing, named for Jerry and Amy Frostick, was founded in 2003 and hosts seven of the region's largest races. As with many other area businesses, J&A has been hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
Its biggest event of the year, the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, had to be canceled and entry fees from thousands of runners were refunded. There was no time to set up a virtual Shamrock Marathon.
Runners in the Big Blue Virtual 5- K were also offered refunds but more than 800 hardy souls chose to run instead.
Good for them.
Not only are they supporting ODU, they're also helping a small business that for nearly two decades has provided area residents with great racing events that add much to the quality of life here.
Everyone wins when you register and run in this race. ODU and J&A need your support.
And for most of you, I dare say that running or walking a 3.1-mile race with family or friends would be a pleasant experience that likely would aid both your physical and mental health.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu