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As with any mission to the Moon, there are bound to be a couple questions along the way. Below, we try to anticipate your questions about the To The Moon Virtual Relay in the following areas:
- General Race Questions
- Bib, Run Submissions, and Runner Tracking Questions
- Gear and Shipping Questions
- Questions about iRunFar
If you still have any questions after reading the FAQ, please get in touch.
General Race Questions
What is the To The Moon Virtual Relay?
The To The Moon Virtual Relay is a free, week-long event with the communal goal of running and walking a combined 238,900 miles, the average distance from the Earth to the Moon. It’s an audacious goal, but with the power of the global running community, we think we can make it!
When is the To The Moon Virtual Relay?
The relay goes from Monday, June 29 through Sunday, July 5. The final day of the relay, July 5, is a full moon! The days count by your local time zone.
UPDATE: We’ve extended the event indefinitely, while we continue on our way to the Moon! Join the To The Moon Virtual Relay Strava club to log all your runs from July 6 until we get to the Moon.
How much does it cost?
The event is entirely free to enter! Really? You bet.
Who can enter?
Anyone, anywhere in the world. Heck, if you’re on the International Space Station, we’d love to have you take part, too!
Is the relay kid friendly?
You bet! Hop over to our kids page and check out the Moonrunner Kids Activities for kids to enjoy as they participate. (Heck, grown-ups might have fun with a few of the projects, too!)
When can I enter?
Any time through when the virtual relay ends on Sunday, July 5.
What if I’m participating in another event during the time?
Come on down! We’re more than happy to have you participate in multiple events at the same time.
How do I enter?
[Registration is now closed.] Head on over to our registration page to enter. It shouldn’t take more than two minutes and you can sign up for multiple members of your household at once. (Just make sure to forward them the registration email you receive!)
The event is underway, can I still enter and participate?
As long as the event is still ongoing, you may still enter. (It’s free, so why not?!) What’s more, feel free to enter your runs and walks going back to the start of the event, June 29!
What does “Weeklong Distance Goal of Entrant” on the registration form mean?
While registering, you have the option to set your distance goal for the week-long event. We’ll provide you a public individual tracking page during the relay (more on that below). This goal will display on it to help motivate you during the relay.
Is this a competition?
This is not a competition. The goal of the event is to come together to complete an amazing communal goal. However, we will provide an overall ranking in case that helps motivate you.
What are the Bonus Challenges?
The Bonus Challenges are a few activities meant to add to the fun factor while we are putting in a week’s worth of miles and kilometers. Check them out and make your submissions!
Why the Moon?
The Moon is a centerpiece of our time outdoors, always there and often lighting the way. Also, it’s a long way to the Moon and thus it makes a good group challenge. Check out our Moon fun facts page to learn more about our nearest celestial body!
How do I stay informed about the relay?
Upon entry, whoever registered should receive a confirmation email from the iRunFar Store. If you don’t, please check your email’s spam folder. Once you locate this email, please add that address to your email provider’s contact list or safe folder. If you entered on behalf of others, please forward the relevant portion of that email to the additional entrants. All entrants should receive an additional informational email the week before the relay. We’ll also keep this website updated with the latest information.
Bib, Run Submissions, and Runner Tracking Questions
Where’s the entrants list and what’s my bib number?
Head on over here to see the entrants list and your bib number.
How do I get my bib?
You can now download your race bib. You can find your bib number here. We encourage you to decorate and share photos of bib!
Which miles/kilometers should I log? Do I need to run every mile/kilometer? Can I walk and hike? Can I log multiple outings in one day?
There’s no need to run every day. Or to run at all. Walking and hiking is awesome! Head out however frequently you’d like. If you head out for multiple sessions in one day, please log each of them separately!
Which runs and walks should I submit?
We’d prefer for you to log your discrete sessions rather than the random mileage a pedometer or watch might accumulate over the course of a day. This virtual relay is run on a self-reporting honor system. If you enter after the start of the relay, please feel free to log your activities going back to June 29.
Do I need a GPS watch or app to participate?
Nope! No GPS or app is required to participate in this event. Of course, feel free to use one if you have it. Otherwise, just make your best guesstimate of the distance you’ve covered, whether that’s based on your own estimated pace, using Google Maps, or any other method. In the end, this an honor-system-based communal event.
How do I submit my runs?
The submission form can be found in Mission Control. You can submit multiple runs for any given day and submit runs for previous days, such as logging Monday’s run on Tuesday. You will need your bib number and the email address associated with your personal entry into the relay in order to submit your runs. You can submit your outings in kilometers or miles.
How will I see my progress?
Each participant has an individual progress tracker on which you can see your daily distance totals as well as your cumulative distance traveled.
How will I see our collective progress toward the moon?
Throughout the relay week, our collective distance total will be continuously updated in Mission Control and on the event homepage. While we’re focused on the communal and won’t be recognizing individual winners, we’ll update a results table in Mission Control throughout the week to include each individual’s current cumulative distance total and it’ll be sortable by distance.
Gear and Shipping Questions
Is there To The Moon Virtual Relay gear?
Yes! We want to make this event free to everyone, but we love our logo and made some gear available to those who want it! The
Do I need to enter the event to buy the gear?
Nope! Anyone is free to grab some To The Moon Virtual Relay gear for themselves or others.
How do I pay for gear?
All payments are made via PayPal. You can use a credit card to pay via PayPal without having a PayPal account.
How and when will you ship the To The Moon Virtual Relay gear?
All To The Moon gear will be sent via the U.S. Postal Service.
Initial gear pre-orders will be available through June 9 with the intent that we’ll ship by June 22 and have the gear out to U.S. domestic residents before the event starts. While we’ll ship them by June 22 as well, we cannot guarantee that international shipments will arrive before the end of the event.
After June 9, we will be taking additional gear orders for delivery most likely after the event. (We are ordering some additional inventory that will ship between June 22 and when it runs out, but product is not guaranteed to ship until around July 22.)
Please be sure to use your correct shipping address.
What about international orders and shipping?
We love our international friends and ship overseas! Please be aware that even in the best of times, it can take several weeks from shipment to arrival, and we expect that it might take longer than usual now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please be sure to use your correct shipping address.
Due to the pandemic, the U.S. Postal Service is currently not shipping to more than 100 countries. We will continue to monitor this list. We will take orders from all countries, but only ship to countries where service is suspended once service is restored.
International shipping can require payment of customs and similar fees. We do not track or pay such fees. You will be responsible for any such fees associated with your order.
International postal delivery can also vary from domestic postal delivery in your country. Please be aware of such differences, such as whether you must claim the package at your local post office. (In iRunFar’s many years of shipping, the vast majority of issues have been with packages to the United Kingdom. If you order from the U.K., please check with your local post office around the time of expected delivery.)
What if I made a mistake with my shipping address, move, or otherwise need to change my shipping address?
Please contact us immediately if you need to update the shipping address for your order, either by replying to your order confirmation email or via the form at the bottom of this page. We’ll do our best to help you! However, we cannot update an address after we’ve shipped your order and we will charge additional postage if we need to reship your order due to an address error on your part.
Questions about iRunFar
What is iRunFar?
We are a team of editors, writers, gear testers, and artists who provide you with information and inspiration to help you run better and happier, as we have for more than a decade! We invite you to learn more about iRunFar.
Does the relay help iRunFar?
This event is completely free! (Winning!) If you choose to purchase any To the Moon or other gear from the iRunFar Store, those proceeds support the media operations of iRunFar, your leading independent source of trail running and ultrarunning information, as we work through a challenging year.
Who to thank for the To The Moon Virtual Relay?
We can thank Alessandro Locatelli for the awesome To The Moon logo. There’s Mike Place and Katie Williams to thank for developing the race forms, database, interactivity, and visualization. Thanks to Tom Caughlan, Adam Gerard, Andy Jones-Wilkins, Gretchen Kish, and Olivia Rissland for their ongoing feedback on the development of the race. Word is that Meghan Hicks and Bryon Powell were also involved.
Other Questions
What if I have another question?
If you don’t see the answer above, please get in touch via the contact form below.
