The Next Transformation: Walk or Run to Not Miss This Deal

Almost four years ago I began a journey.  If you’ve been with us for long, you might remember how it all started with our 90-Day Weight & Health Challenge back in January 2015; and in case you’re wondering, you can still sign up at that link and start from Day #1!  From that time I have lost over 100 lb and transformed my life by changing both my diet and adding running.  And since then, I’ve ran over 30 races and just can’t stop running!  I’m actually within 60 days of running the NYC marathon – something I never thought I would do.

The pants that started our challenge
My choice was to lose weight or buy new pants as I was bursting at the seams

I share all this because along with developing a passion for running, I’ve also developed a passion for helping others with their transformations.  I actually became a Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) certified running coach early this year so I could have the skills to help others that are working towards their own transformations and fitness goals, whatever they might be.  Along the way I even started a Facebook Group, Motivate Me to Run (come check us out!) where we encourage one another, provide motivational tips, and I try to answer any running questions that others might have to help them along the way.

Above I mentioned the number of races I’ve run.  I don’t share this to show off, but instead as an example I learned that continuously having a race on the calendar has helped motivate me in my training.  And this isn’t only for running, but if you walk or bike you might have learned the same thing.

But there’s a problem with that, right?  Running races can cost a lot of money.  I really wanted to run one this morning but the cost to run it would have been $109.95.  I’m sure the experience would have been great, but since I hadn’t budgeted for it, it just didn’t make sense to spend that kind of money.  And if you’ve been running for long, you know that can be typical for a race.  

But that’s the tip of the iceberg.  There are so many things that might prevent someone from running a race:

• Cost, as I’ve already mentioned
• Shorter races don’t always give out bling (medals)
• Travel cost (even if it’s a short distance away you still have to travel to it)
• Porta potties
• Weather can be terrible on the scheduled day of the race
• Early start times (I just signed up for one that offers buses at 3:30 am)
• Intimidation – some people just don’t want to be around hundreds or thousands of people
• And more…

So between my passion for running and for helping others with their fitness goals, I’ve decided to do something about it!  Thus enters another new venture for myself and our family, Great 8 Virtual Races (don’t worry, The Thrifty Couple is not going anywhere)!  We’re a family-based race company that is providing virtual races to answer each of the problems addressed above!

What is a virtual race?  Virtual races are a new trend where you can register for a race, run/walk it anywhere you want, submit your time and receive a beautiful medal – yes, even for a 5K!  The cost is extremely affordable (see below for a very special deal for you as a reader!) and we even give you a few extra perks that other virtual race companies don’t!

Here’s why you might want to run a virtual race with us!

• The cost is extremely affordable (we are offering a 33% off code, TTC, making our normally $36 race registration only $24!
• The $24 cost includes:
  • Get a beautiful Tyvek bib (industry standard) shipped to you before you run – most virtual race companies make the bib and shipping an upsell
  • Receive a gorgeous, hand-painted and hand-crafted 3.5″ medal shipped to you for no extra charge
  • Get access to an RRCA certified running coach for any of your training questions
  • Become part of our community and get the encouragement and motivation you need
• Run the race WHEN you want (avoid nasty weather and wake-up times), WHERE you want (why travel when you don’t need to?), and with WHO you want (run with friends even if they aren’t registered)
• Don’t have to worry about intimidation for any reason
• Choose to run a 5K/10K/Half marathon (your choice!) all for the same cost
• You can participate in this HOWEVER you want – run or run outside, on a trail, on a treadmill, or even an elliptical!
• Run for FREE!  Not only do we offer a coupon code but when someone you refer signs up for our race you’ll get $3 back!  Do this until your registration cost is FREE!
• PLUS a portion of your registration fee will be given to help a charity

I hope you see that our $18 cost is much less than the cost of the race I wanted to run this morning.  And with a low registration cost, you can keep more races on your schedule (keeping you on track for your fitness goals) and not have to pay those exorbitant registration fees (at least all the time – I’m still running other races too ;-)).

So let us introduce our new race series to you: RUN ACROSS AMERICA – Featuring California

We hope you can see just how beautiful this medal turned out!

And that bib – between all the races I’ve ever run (ALL of them being more than $24 by far), I’ve never had a bib this beautiful before.

PLUS, remember how we mentioned that a portion of every registration will go towards a charity?  For the RUN ACROSS AMERICA race series, a portion of your registration will go to a local Food Bank in the state the race highlights!  You could say we are feeding America one state at a time.  We love this quote: “California food banks turn every $1 donated into 5 pounds worth of food.” Our challenge to you is this: How many tons of food can we donate?!

We do offer some other fancy bling as well that is deeply discounted for those that register compared to the price in our store.  We wanted to share them with you so you know what to expect!

So here’s how to get 50% off your race registration!

First go to the race registration site and then click on Sign Up (we’ll apply the discount at the end) 

At the end, you’ll apply the code TTC and see that you saved $18.50 (there is a small fee for registration)

Here’s some links for you to check out:

• Great 8 Virtual Races – Make sure to check here for our next races (see which state is next!).
• Run Across America: California registration – Our site links directly to this page, but if you want to save time then that’s the link to use.
• Motivate Me to Run Facebook group – Come on over and request to join our group and get the motivation, encouragement, and tips to keep going!
• Great 8 Virtual Races Facebook page – Get our latest announcements, coupons, deals, tips and more!

We hope you see this is just another stage in what we love to do – provide ideas, encouragement and motivation to encourage other families in their own transformations.  We started The Thrifty Couple almost a decade ago with the vision to provide the tools so help families transform their finances.  Now I’m starting Great 8 Virtual Races to help others transform their bodies.  Both Cassie’s and my names meanings are Helper of Man, so our goal is to live out what we were named.

We hope this is a blessing to your family.