Let's Do This: the start-up matching people with virtual 5K runs and marathons

From lacing up your trainers for the first time to completing a half-marathon, Let's Do This has a race for you 
Legging it: Sam Browne, far left, and Alex Rose, founders of Let’s Do This, will find you a virtual event to run
Sam Churchill
Amelia Heathman3 June 2020

You’ve done the Run for Heroes and set a new 5K personal best. Now, what’s next?

You could try a 10K or sign up for a half-marathon, but all group events are off the agenda for the foreseeable. Luckily, there is an alternative.

London start-up Let’s Do This will find you a virtual event to run from 1K up to a full marathon. The platform, which was launched back in 2017 by Cambridge graduates Alex Rose and Sam Browne with the aim of helping anyone find and book their perfect race, had been keeping an eye on virtual events for a while, but it wasn’t until Covid-19 hit that it decided to take a bet on them.

“We’re not super-interested in building something that is only valuable when coronavirus is around,” explains Browne. “If it can be really big, then we’ll go hard on it.”

All you need to do is go to the website, find the virtual race you want to do and book in. Once you’ve crossed the metaphorical finish line, you can send a screenshot of your fitness tracker or smartphone to show you’ve completed it, along with a sweaty selfie, to the event page. It’s been a success already: the virtual side of Let’s Do This has been live a little under four weeks now, and last weekend, a 6km race in the US saw more than 15,000 people take part.

Browne says this has been down to focusing on the things that people care about: connecting with other people and community. “We went really hard on how we can build this sense of community around the finish line. We didn’t care as much about the medals, the tracking, the times or the competition. Everything is about how we can connect people.”

Virtual race participants are encouraged to upload their post-run selfie and chat to other runners on the platform
Let's Do This

More than 20 per cent of the races have been raising money for the NHS, as well as other charities. About 20 per cent of users taking part have never used the platform before. Virtual races have also proved more diverse than physical races, in terms of people taking part across age, race and ability. “People might not want to get involved with a race or event because they’re worried about the physical process of turning up in a social group. If they can get involved in virtual events and the community around those events, it can be the start of amazing journeys.”

It’s certainly been a saver for the start-up. When the pandemic hit, Let’s Do This’s revenue went to zero in two weeks. Browne and Rose slashed their salaries by 70 per cent and the pivot to virtual has helped bring revenue back to levels seen before the lockdown.

The team makes sure to have regular virtual runs with one another too. “We have a team of 35 people across the UK and Canada. We’ll go out for a 10K and share the photos from it afterwards and you feel connected and that sense of solidarity.”

The next aim is to allow people to sign up to compete together in groups of three — though not physically, of course — as in many races, a majority of participants are running in groups of three or more.

Browne is also positive about the potential for virtual races in a post-pandemic world too. Take the London Marathon for instance, which regularly receives more than half a million applications for only 17,000 places in the general ballot.

“Half a million people would want to be part of the race and contribute as part of that experience but they can’t actually get a ticket into it. Wanting to be a part of these communities will be really big and that will survive beyond Covid.”

Sprint finish: the virtual races to book now

The Dominic Cummings 30 Mile Eye Test ­— June 5 to June 20

Need to test your eyesight and your long-distance endurance? This cheeky event by GymJam encourages you to run up to 30 miles, which can be done in instalments over two weeks or a smaller distance, to test your eyes and donate to the Royal National Institute for Blind People as well.

Maverick Virtual Race ­— June 6

Choose between 5K, 10K or a half-marathon. There’s a Zoom briefing at 10am for runners and a prize-giving at the end for fastest runners and best photos.

World Gin Day Virtual Run — June 13-14

Organised by Secret London Runs, choose a 5K or 10K option and rehydrate with a G&T afterwards. Twenty per cent of proceeds will go to NHS Charities Together

Midsummer Virtual — June 20-21

Celebrate the longest day of the year with a family run: 1K for kids up to 10K distance from Sussex-based organiser Nice Work.

Big 5 Virtual Series in support of Tusk - 20 June to 20 July

Put your skills to the test with this five-week running series. Go from a 5K to a half marathon and raise money for Save the Rhino, and the African conversation charity Tusk which partners with conservationists, across the continent to protect wildlife from poaching and habitat loss.

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