Again, flexibility is the name of the game with our 2020 Virtual Fun Run! If you love to run solo with a playlist, a podcast, or the sweet sounds of nature, go for it! If you’re most comfortable sticking with members of your own household this year, pick a day and get your family moving! If you’d like to organize a group of friends to meet up and run, go for it…just please follow all of your local regulations and use common sense and courtesy to keep everyone on the roads safe!

Local regulations (and a little more of that common sense and courtesy) are key here too. We won’t tell you that you must mask up, but if you do prefer to wear a flexible and breathable face covering that’s easy to pull up and down as needed, we’ve got a terrific BUFF® as part of our race gear this year! If you register at the Rudolph Club or Santa’s Nice List level by 11/15, you’ll get one with your race swag. You can also purchase one while supplies last. 

No, but Santa is watching, so… your call.

You don’t have to, but those that do sure look like they’re having fun!

We know you love your annual RFR shirt, and if you register by November 15, you’ll get a technical race t-shirt to add to your collection! (Reindeers In Training who are running the kids Egg Nog Jog will get cotton t-shirts.)

You know it! We’ve been donating our proceeds to the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills since this race was born, and we’ve donated over $350,000 so far. This year we know they need our help more than ever, so we hope everyone in the community (and beyond!) will join in the Virtual RFR fun!

Much of the process is the same—you choose your distance and donation level, register (by 11/15 if you want gear!) and train (or not…you call the shots!). The only difference comes on race day. Instead of running all together on one day, you’ll run any time and place you’d like during the first two weeks of December! 

The Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills has been working hard since schools closed last spring to keep families fed and supported throughout this crisis. (Our Team Green charity has been helping with the feeding part through our Neighbors Feeding Neighbors initiative!) During COVID-19, they’ve distributed more than 247,000 free meals so no child no goes hungry. As the Club has reopened at reduced capacity, they are getting back to providing a productive space coupled with enrichment programs designed to help Moore County kids and teens reach their fullest potential. For many kids, the fear and uncertainty of COVID-19 along with extended school closures negatively impacted not only their academic progress but their sense of wellbeing. The caring youth development professionals at the Boys and Girls Club are helping children and teens adjust and make up for lost classroom time, as well as provide a space for them to focus on just being a kid. They are also providing a virtual Club experience for Club members who can benefit from that option as well.

You can register to run any time before December 14, but if you want gear, make sure to register by November 15!

Yes—packet pick up is November 30 and December 1 at FirstHealth Fitness Pinehurst from 12-7 each day! 

YES! Yes you should dress up! YES! We may not be all together, but we still want to celebrate the fun and festivity of the Reindeer Fun Run virtually, so please send us pictures and go all out with the costumes. There will be a contest and there will be a winner!

The beauty of a virtual run is FLEXIBILITY. You can complete your run any time during the first two weeks of December!

Finisher medals are hard to do with a virtual finish line, so we’re skipping the hardware this year. 

With no way to standardize the course, we’re focusing on the “FUN” part of the Fun Run this year. Although we won’t recognize official winners, we do hope you’ll challenge yourself to snag a PR and post your times! And remember, everyone who helps the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills is a winner in our book! 

We’ve got courses posted for the 5k—you can choose from our most recent Aberdeen course, or take it old school with the original Southern Pines course. And of course you can always come up with your own course, whether you’re in the Sandhills, San Diego, or Spain! When it comes to the 12k, we don’t feel comfortable suggesting our standard course, as we depend on the good folks in the Aberdeen police department to close the roads and keep it safe. We suggest mapping your own course on familiar roads, using a site like MapMyRun, or joining our 2020 Virtual Reindeer Fun Run Facebook group to seek advice from other runners. 

Easy! Well, kinda easy. Here are the directions from RunSignUp–you can also switch at packet-pickup, but it is faster to do before-hand.

1. Sign In to RunSignUp
2. Go to your Profile
3. Click My Registered Races
4. Click Manage Registration next to the registration that you would like to transfer to another race
5. Click the Transfer To Another Race menu item
6. Find the race that you would like to transfer into and click the Start Transfer button
7. Register for the new race, and your Race Transfer Credit will be applied at the checkout

It is REALLY important that you don’t just run the other race on race day. A couple years ago we had someone decide to run the 5k instead of the 12k, without letting us know. Guess what? Our results showed he won the 12k in record time and it delayed our awards ceremony by 15 minutes to unwind it all. Just one example, but it really messes things up. Thanks!

You can get race pricing on our registration page. Sign up early though, because prices increase the closer we get to the event! But, even if you sign up late, it all goes to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sandhills.

Of course the answer is no! Someone who runs a race without paying is called a Bandit. Here is an article in Runners World about Bandits. 100% of proceeds go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sandhills–do you really want to take money away from these great kids?. And, the gear is awesome.

If you are having issues registering, please visit RunSignUp at https://runsignup.com/Contact-Us. They have great information there and a way to contact them if you can’t find answers to technical issues. We have learned that 99% of registration issues can be alleviated with a newer web browser (some old browsers are just not very forgiving).

Absolutely. We have direct evidence that participating in the Reindeer Fun Run will increase your likelihood of being on Santa’s Nice List by up to 250%. Wearing antlers during your run almost assures you a spot on the coveted list.

The 5k & 12k are both USATF certified. Details can be found on their respective pages. The Egg Nog Jog was certified by Santa as 800 meters (1/2 mile).

Nope, as long as they are in a stroller, there is no charge for having them along for the ride. 

Good call out. Yes, it is, but we like the way it looks as Egg Nog Jog :-)

It all depends on your pace (minutes per mile). But, here are some rough calculations you can share with those who have come out to watch and cheer you on:

On race-day, we will have sponsor tents at the finish line and in the Kids Zone. If you would like to become a sponsor of the Reindeer Fun Run, please take a look at our sponsorship page. We’d love to have you join in the fun and promote your business as a sponsor! If you have other services that you think would benefit the Reindeer Fun Run, please reach out to us on our contact us page. Thanks for your interest!

You should totally become a sponsor!

Visit our sponsor page here to learn more about sponsorship, and complete the form or call us at 910-693-3045. We have so many great sponsors that help us raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sandhills, and gain exposure for their business. We’d love to add your business to our wonderful sponsors.

Our Training Partner FirstHealth Fitness has created a special training program just for you. It’s called Earn Your Antlers. You can learn more about it on our training page.

Also, you should totally join FirstHealth–their places are awesome.