On March Fourth (National Grammar Day), I saw someone had shared to the Beat the Blerch Facebook group I follow a May the Fourth running event, the 2015 May the Fourth Be With You Virtual 5K. This is the second year that Tisha Davis has held this event to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
It was the visuals that got me, a shiny “Medal of Yavin” which – I asked – is a 3-inch medallion made from custom die-cast medal with gold finish.
My first thought was, “What if it’s a scam?”
I’m not even a huge Star Wars fan. I don’t know the significance of this medal but the wiki page suggests it figures kind of prominently as a prop. Registration is just US$35 of which I only have to pay a fraction and if it’s not a scam, I’m helping her raise money for a good cause. It’s just 5K that I don’t even have to do.
That’s why I didn’t advertise that I had registered for the run until a month later, when the registration number was not just 10 people.
May 4 is the day after the BMO Vancouver Marathon where I’m completed for the half-marathon distance (largely walking) so I had some alternatives floating through my head:
- Count 3.1 miles/5 km of the previous day’s half-marathon as part of the virtual 5K, emphasis thus on the virtual part
- Count the walk to and from work and then a little more because it’s only a 4.8km round trip
- Lazily jog (or walk) on the treadmill until the machine says I’ve covered 5K
- Actually go out for an evening run which would be – shudder – the distance from home to work and back and a little extra
The above would all count for a virtual run! Which is why I’ve never considered a virtual run for a real, distance race. It shouldn’t surprise you that after the harrowing ordeal that was my BMO Vancouver Marathon experience just the day before, I opted for the third option. It was, uhm, a routine “outing” that took 59:18 during which time I watched
- 10 minutes Ugly Betty (s02e13)
- 10 minutes Dallas (s02e10)
- 5 minutes Hindsight (s01e01 – the video crapped out and wouldn’t go further)
- 10 minutes Hockey Wives (end of s01e01, beginning of s01e02)
- 10 minutes Mistresses (s02e11)
- 10 minutes Downton Abbey (s05e03)
- 4 minutes Suits (s03e08)
Here’s the bib that was sent to me in PDF that I’m didn’t wear. It’s cute. I will add it and the race to my scrapbook because it all counts. :D
The medals were shipped on April 29 so I’ll update this post when I’ve received it!
Update: I received my medal on May 14! Oh, the joys of international postal service and it only came from the state right next to my province!
NPY picked up the medal because I supplied an old shipping address by accident and he set my expectations very low saying it was cheap-looking. I was pleasantly surprised. Medals have gotten a lot heftier these days but this medal is no worse than the ones I was getting a decade go. I like it.
I think it falls nicely between an authentic replica and the too-shiny Disney marathon version. :)
