IMPORTANT Information for Girlfriends 2020

Hey Girlfriends,

Well... What do you do when Covid-19 keeps wrecking havoc on Live events? You straighten your crown, put on your sneakers, RISE, and go for a Run or Walk!

If you missed the Live Announcement from Sherri McMillan, you can watch it here.

Girlfriends is now a VIRTUAL event. Unfortunately, phases have been put on hold and the City of Vancouver is just not able to permit the live event. The good news - we are going to make this event our best virtual event ever! Stay the course, race the course and together, we will get through this! So get your Girlfriends ready, because the 2020 Girlfriends Half Marathon, 10K & 6K event from October 10th - 18th will be one you will never forget! GIRLFRIENDS RISE TOGETHER!

Our number one priority is our athletes and the health of our community so we would never want to do anything that would cause anyone to get sick. With that said, it's our 14th year and we can't cancel on you! We hope we can convince you to still race with us virtually and we have ramped up all aspects of this event. If you're already registered, you don't need to do anything. You will be automatically transitioned to the virtual option.

Upgraded, AMAZING SWAG! Check it out below! Hoodies, arm sleeves, Crowns, T-Shirt, Medal Spinner, Necklace, TUTU and swag bag full of sponsor goodies depending on what distance(s) you sign up for.
We have been allowed to mark the course so you can still run/walk the majority of the original, scenic course from October 10th - October 18th along the Columbia River
New - Half Marathon challenge - Not everyone can do 13.1 miles all at once. With a virtual event, you can do the Half Marathon challenge over a number of days. Your race, your terms!
We have added the Queen Challenge - Participate in 2 or more events and earn the title of #QUEENBEAST. Upgrade $20 to add the 6k or 10k or $40 to upgrade to the Half Marathon.
Help us raise funds for the Pink Lemonade Project and Kearney Breast Center - the Jaime Wyatt Miller Cancer Compassion Fund. We've raised over $600,000 over the years because of YOU so let's see what we can do during a global pandemic! If you would like to race for FREE by raising or donating $500 (or know a guy who would like to be part of our Pink Brigade Guys) please email us at info@whyracingevents.com and we'll give you all details.
Kids race 6K for FREE!
We can now race together from all over the world! Invite all your sisters, daughters, cousins and BFFs no matter where they live. You can schedule your race to do it at the same time and then enjoy a virtual post-party afterwards to celebrate. Last year, we had 12 states represented! Can we beat that for 2020?!

For those of you who have never done Girlfriends before, we wanted to give you a little insight into how special this event is and our motives for organizing this event. We created this event to honor our very good friend, Joleen Skarberg, who was diagnosed with Breast Cancer 14.5 years ago. Joleen is one of those women who everybody absolutely loves - she is kind, caring, positive, upbeat and just the most incredible mother, wife, grandma and friend. When we found out she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, it just didn't feel fair. Why would someone as wonderful as Joleen be dealt these cards?! Well, she's the kind of woman who inspires you and so we decided to organize this event so we could honor her while raising funds for other local women who are navigating Breast Cancer. Treatment options and recovery for Breast Cancer Survivors has improved so much over the years and we owe this to the funds that have been raised from events like this to support research, diagnosis and treatment. Joleen continues to run and workout with us regularly, proof that events like this are so important. In years past, a woman like Joleen would not be doing as well as she is today. She'll be running again this year with her sisters, daughters and girlfriends. We will also be remembering and honoring one of our very special Girlfriends and WHY's former marketing director Jaime Miller, who we lost to Breast Cancer. We will support the survivors and honor those who were taken from all of us far too early. We dedicate this event to Joleen, Jaime and to every other woman, man, and child whose life has been impacted by Cancer. Kudos to each of you for recognizing that collectively we can all make a huge difference, especially as we navigate through the world pandemic. Cancer doesn’t stop and neither should YOU! You all rock!

Here's what you are going to get if you don't defer and/or register! Please sign up if you haven't yet and let's #GirlfriendsRaceTogether

All Girlfriends athletes get a Technical Finisher's Racing Shirt, Girlfriends Medal, Necklace, TUTU and SWAG bag full of goodies from our sponsors!

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Plus all Girlfriends Half Marathon Race & Challenge participants also get a VERY COOL, COMFY, WARM event Hoodie and Arm Sleeves! You get it all! We hope this is an incentive for many of our athletes to give a Half Marathon a go on your own terms in a non-intimidating way. The Half Marathon RACE is for those who complete the distance all at once and want to upload time, results and/or want to be considered for awards. The Half Marathon CHALLENGE requires you to do the distance over 9 days or less. So you too could be a Half Marathoner with an asterisk (**over 9 days) or over however many days it takes you to complete. Another perk of a virtual event!

Do you want ALL THE SWAG?! DO THE Queens CHALLENGE! Since the event is virtual over an extended period of time, it makes it more manageable to be a BEAST... we mean a Queen! If you perform 2 or 3 of the events, you can earn a Queens Crown Tiara and the coveted Triple-headed Beast Medal or Beast Medal. Since it's virtual you can do multiple events over the time period. For example, you could do a Half Marathon one day and the 6K on another day and a 10K another day. Any combination counts and you will be a Queen with the Tiara to prove it!

Email registration@whyracingevents.com for details and to add on.

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FUNDRAISING: It's also important to note that $5 from each paid adult registration will go to our beneficiaries - Pink Lemonade Project and Kearny Breast Cancer Centers - Jaime Wyatt Miller Cancer Compassion Fund. When you register, you can also set up a fundraising page to help raise donations and put an even more compelling WHY to your virtual race! If you'd like to race for FREE and be part of our Girlfriends Run Squad. Help us continue to support these important causes during these tough times.

IMPORTANT: If you have already registered, your options are as follows:

1. Participate in the virtual option which we REALLY hope you do! If you have already signed up, your registration will automatically be switched to the virtual option so you don't need to do anything.

2. Defer to 2021 or another Why Racing event this year. Just email us at registration@whyracingevents.com by this Friday September 11th and let us know if you want to defer. We have waived the deferral fee. If you don't defer, all of your correct sizing for all official finishers' merchandise will be ordered for you that's why we need to know ASAP if you want to defer.

Register! If you have not signed up yet, we hope we've convinced you to join in on all the fun! Here's the pricing details to sign up for the virtual race experience and receive all the SWAG and be part of something amazing! Please share with all your friends, family and racing buddies!

$60 for 6K & 10K athletes gets the Technical Shirt, Medal, Necklace, TUTU & SWAG bag full of goodies
$80 for Half Marathon race and Half Marathon Challenge participants get the Hoodie Sweatshirt, Arm Sleeves, Technical Shirt, Medal, Necklace, TUTU and a SWAG bag full of goodies.
50% off for Junior athletes
Kids 12 and under race the 6K for free and get a tshirt, medal, bib and goody bag
$20 for add-on 6K/10K or $40 for Marathon/Half Marathon add-on for Queens Challenge and the Tiara!

We will continue to focus on what we CAN do versus what we can't do. That's what athletes do! We stand tall, straighten our Crown and get the job done! We train to overcome obstacles and challenges! We can't race together physically, but we can still race together in spirit. We can't control what's going on in the world and the uncertainty of it all can be scary. The only thing we can control is what we focus on and our response. A virtual event won't be exactly as we had planned for, but nothing is really going as planned right now. The only thing we can do is to promise that we will do everything in our power to assure you won't regret sticking with it and going virtual with us.

FYI, if you email registration@whyracingevents.com, Jennifer Lyman, will be receiving your email, who is our sweet registration director. Please be patient with her as her inbox has been slammed and she will do her best to get back to you as soon as possible. You can also reach out to our event director via email Karissa@whyracingevents.com with any questions.

IMPORTANT: If you have a Comcast email address, many athletes have had difficulties receiving our emails. If you don't hear back from us, please message us on Facebook.

Thank you so much for your support during these challenging times. So many of you have asked how you can help us make it through this when we can't host any live events and the best thing to do is to continue participating in our virtual races and inspire your girlfriends to sign up too. That's the only thing that's keeping us together right now. So many of our colleagues across the country have either laid off all their employees or shut their doors for good and we are fighting that as hard as we can! We want to be doing this for the long-term! We can't wait to see you face-to-face at a finish line soon but in the mean time, a virtual finish line is better than no finish line!

Please share this email with anyone you love who you think would be inspired to go for it and would benefit physically and mentally from these events.

Sherri McMillan & your WHY Racing Crew