Corona Virus Can’t Stop Friendship. We’re Proof of That.
It was a couple of days before the annual NYC Half Marathon and the Friendship Circle’s Team Friendship was ready to run. With a large cohort of runners joining the run to raise money for the international organization, the event was set to be a highlight for many.
And that’s when CoronaVirus forced everything to a grinding halt.
The half marathon was cancelled, but the runners were still ready to go, so with just a weekend’s notice, Team Friendship took the natural next step: we organized a “virtual” half marathon instead.
It was a first for the organization, which runs endurance sporting events to raise funds and awareness for the Friendship Circle, and it was a rousing success.
The virtual half marathon gave us an idea. It had quickly become clear that any upcoming events would have to be put on hold. Our annual hike at the grand canyon—Hike 4 Friendship, which boasts 3 separate “tracks” for hikers of different levels—was cancelled, and our calendar was cleared for the next long while. With in-person events out of the question, we decided to go for the next best option: a virtual experience instead.
And that’s how, just a few weeks after our spontaneous virtual half-marathon, we’re excited to debut our first-ever Team Friendship Virtual Experience! Participants can choose to bike, run, or do both (a duathlon) as they raise funds for the Friendship Circle and hit their sporting goals—even while in quarantine.
Here’s how it works:
Sign up to run 3k, 5k, or 10k or bike 25 or 50 miles (or do a duathlon!)
Pay the $54 registration fee
Receive TF Swag
Train
On June 7, log into Strava and start your race!
Join us for a virtual celebratory event
We’ll be cheering our participants on with incentives, support, and celebrations galore—all virtually, of course. We know the current situation might have people feeling down, so we’re here to help you rise to the challenge, be a part of something bigger and accomplish something great.
CoronaVirus might have put our worlds on hold, but there’s one thing that never stops: friendship. In fact, combating loneliness is more important now than ever before.
In times like these, our special needs community desperately needs our support. Friendship Circle branches around the globe have stepped up their virtual (and in some cases, socially distanced) programming and stood strong in the face of crisis, helping thousands of families as they forge through this emergency together.
While we can’t get together to run a marathon or do a bikeathon in person, we can still get together as a community to do something great. We’re doing our part to raise much-needed funds and awareness for an organization that’s fighting at the front lines.
Will you join us?
https://www.teamfriendship.org/virtualexperience
