Virtual Running Buddies....one of the perks of social media

Sure, running in and of itself does a body, mind, and spirit good. But add in that little platform of social media and it's become a whole new ball game for me.

I have been running for more than 10 years, and have made some great friends along the way. In January of 2013, I created my Facebook page Running on the Fly and started blogging about my training, races, triumphs, setbacks, goals, and (moderate) aches & pains.....and my world suddenly shifted.

The bulk of my "real life" friends aren't runners (and I'm quite OK with that), and most of my Facebook friends (at the time) weren't runners either and I sensed they were growing tired of my constant status updates at finish lines and selfies with the latest addition to my increasing hardware collection.

So, I found an outlet where I could talk all things running (and fitness)...and suddenly had a captive audience that not only shared in my passion for running, but they encouraged me to tell them more!  When was my next race? How will I train for it? Are there any doubts in my ability to make it to the finish line? Yadda Yadda Yadda.

I became "virtual" friends with a lot of like-minded people, who also wanted an outlet to talk running. Several of these VRB's (Virtual Running Buddies) also were embarking on training for their first marathon.....and, wouldn't you know it? They all convinced me to dive in and train for my first marathon as well.

My first VRB was Fran from I Run Long. We instantly hit it off and shared a lot of laughs (via the computer screen). We got the crazy idea to try to meet up and do a race together....and due to a little finagling, we made it happen in St. Louis at the Rock'n Roll half marathon in October of 2013.

Fran and myself, just after the finish line in St. Louis

Next there was Karen from Trading in my Heels. Her and I have a lot of coincidental things in common it's almost like were sisters. After two years of virtual fun, we finally got to meet in person and ran the Drake Relays half marathon together in April of this year.

One of many pics with Karen during our half marathon

Then there's Penny (formerly of 26.YIKES)...she's the first VRB I got to sit down and share a meal with. I was in Chicago for the Fight for Air Climb in March of 2014, so she found me after the climb. It was just like being reaquainted with a long-lost grade school best friend. I ventured back to the windy city in July of that year, and her and I did the Rock'n Roll Festival extravaganza...running both the 5K on Saturday and then the half marathon the next day.

Penny and I with two of our RnR medals in the windy city

This past spring, I met Amy from Running on Faith and Coffee...a gal who lives an hour away. She also writes a blog and manages a Facebook page, and recently became a half marathoner!

With Amy at the Lucky Run

There's also Tammie from Life is ALWAYS better in running shoes...another Iowa gal who loves her distance running. We met up after an especially cold Dam to Dam, and we also found each other after a very hot Bix 7 race. No doubt we'll be seeing more of each other!

with Tammie after Dam to Dam

In June, I met Kelly from Bubblegum Runner while in Duluth, MN for Grandma's Marathon.....and she qualified for Boston! I wish I could have witnessed her victory at the finish line...but she was much faster than me.

It was so fun meeting Kelly!

In July, I ran my first ultra....and I did it with some of the most wonderful VRB's a gal could ask for. This race will always hold a very special place in my heart for the sisterhood ties that were built, strengthened, and solidified in the six hours of non-stop running (overnight) in extreme heat, humidity, rain, lightning and Christmas lights. I not only was re-aquainted with Karen and Penny, but also got to (finally!) meet Teri (from  Reinventitude), Michelle (from This Momma Runs) and Maggie in person. Also, even though she wasn't able to run with us, Wendy fromTaking the long way home showed up at the finish line with donuts for all of us!

Can you tell we just spent 6-plus hours running?

This is only a sampling of some of the wonderful peeps who never would have entered my life had it not been for social media. I'm in constant contact with these gals, several of them on a daily basis. We're not just runners, we're genuine friends. We have shared training tips, we have encouraged each other, we have laughed, and we have cried. Most of us trained for and ran our first marathon (virtually) together.....and anyone who has done a marathon knows you're never the same after that finish line.