Victor Run Virtual Race – June 4-6, 2021

VICTOR RUN 2021 RESULTS

The Victor Run 2021 was the second annual virtual running race organized to raise funds for longevity research. The U.S. Transhumanist Party collaborated with molecular biologist Victor Björk, who was the inspiration for the original Victor Run 2020. This time we encouraged all race participants to donate to their choice among the following organizations: SENS Research Foundation, LongeCity, and Lifespan.io (Participants could donate to the PEARL research crowdfunding campaign or to Lifespan.io generally).

In 2021 a total of 27 runners participated in the Victor Run Virtual Race, and a total of $1,302.04 was raised for life-extension organizations. All participants will be rewarded with custom finisher medals, many of which were already sent to participants and can be expected to be received by late June 2020. Congratulations to the male champions Chris Badolato, John Leniz, and Blake Crosby, and the female champions Carla Katz, Justine Masznicz, and Karen Carlson. Also, this is race was an extraordinary situation where every female runner was a winner in her age group! We also recognize two “teams” of runners who directly donated to SENS Research Foundation and the Lifespan Extension Advocacy Foundation (LEAF) / Lifespan.io. Statistics for Team SENS and Team LEAF have been tabulated using a combined metric that considers running points and amounts donated.

More generally, the Victor Run Virtual Race illustrates that everyone can be a winner when it comes to the pursuit of health and longevity. The longer you stay in the running, the more effort you put in for the prolongation of healthy life, the better off you will be. Everyone who participated in this race will be rewarded for their commitment to living longer and taking effective action toward that goal.

Watch the U.S. Transhumanist Party Virtual Enlightenment Salon with Victor Björk, held on June 13, 2021, which discussed the Victor Run Virtual Race among other subjects related to life-extension research and advocacy.

HISTORICAL RACE INFORMATION

We think that virtual races should be interesting experiences with unique premises that take advantage of the virtual format and give people more than they could get just by deciding to run outside. Hence, the Victor Run was designed with a premise unlike any other race – and one that embodies the event’s goal of pursuing longevity.

Victor Björk

The Rules

1. Run any distance of your choosing, in any location of your choosing, at any time during June 4 through June 6, 2021.

2. Track your run using any GPS-enabled application that has a public link to your activity. Make sure to set your activity to be publicly viewable, so that the results can be validated in compiling the race statistics.

3. Submit a donation of $30 or greater to any of the following organizations: SENS Research Foundation, LongeCity, or Lifespan.io (You can donate to the PEARL research crowdfunding campaign or to Lifespan.io generally). Once you have donated, send an e-mail here with evidence / confirmation of your donation.

When we compile results, we will also release results by “team”. Your “team” will be based on the organization you chose to donate to. Results for each “team” will be the sums of the scores for each runner on the “team”.

4. Submit your race results via the form here or via e-mail here. On Strava, tag your run as the Victor Run 2021 or use the hashtag #VictorRun2021 if you would like recognition that way.

Individuals in the top 50 places using the scoring system for the run will earn a custom finisher medal, sent around late June 2021.

NOTE: Because the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other supply-chain disruptions have made shipping to many countries cost-prohibitive, we are limiting distributions of medals to North America and Europe only. Individuals in countries outside the North American and European continents may still participate in the virtual race, but we will unfortunately not be able to ship medals directly to those countries.

International shipments may take longer because of recent disruptions. We appreciate your patience, and will try to get the medal to you as soon as this is logistically feasible.

Scoring

Your run will be scored according to the following metrics. You can make this a fast run or a slower, longer run – a flat run or a run with significant elevation gain. Because the goal of the fundraiser is to support longevity research, there will be no limit to how long or how far you can run. If you started running during the June 4-6 timeframe but are somehow still running past that timeframe (because three days are not enough for you), we can even accommodate your submission of that result.

Distance / Speed Metrics

– 1 point for every mile run at 12 minutes or slower.

– 1.1 points for every mile run between 11 and <12 minutes.

– 1.25 points for every mile run between 10 and <11 minutes.

– 1.5 points for every mile run between 9 and <10 minutes.

– 2 points for every mile run between 8 and <9 minutes.

– 3 points for every mile run between 7 and <8 minutes.

– 5 points for every mile run between 6 and <7 minutes.

– 7 points for every mile run between 5 and <6 minutes.

– 11 points for every mile run between 4 and <5 minutes.

– YOU WIN AUTOMATICALLY if you set the mile world record and run any mile under 4 minutes.

– Any remaining fraction of a mile after all full miles are considered will receive a number of points proportional to a mile within the range above that corresponds to the average pace for the entire run. For example, if your entire run’s average pace is 9:30 per mile, and you run 4.5 miles, then the last 0.5 miles will earn you 0.75 points (0.5*1.5 points for the range between 9 and <10 minutes).

– If your GPS tracker does not provide pace per individual mile, you will be scored based on your average pace. Mathematically, this will likely result in a lower point total, so as to incentivize more granular tracking.

Elevation Metrics

– You will earn an additional 0.25 points for every 100 feet of elevation gain attained during the run. Every fraction of 100 feet of elevation gain will earn a proportional share of 0.25 points.

May You Run on a Treadmill or Elliptical Trainer?

Yes, you may, if you make the donation and provide a screenshot of your results. However, your point rubric will have less upside potential.

Treadmill / Elliptical Trainer Rubric

– 1 point for every mile run at 12 minutes or slower.

– 1.1 points for every mile run between 11 and <12 minutes.

– 1.25 points for every mile run between 10 and <11 minutes.

– 1.5 points for every mile run faster than 10 minutes.

– You will earn an additional 0.1 points for every 100 feet of elevation gain as registered by a treadmill or elliptical trainer.

You will likely be scored based on your average pace for a treadmill / elliptical run – unless you can provide evidence of per-mile splits.

Legal Details

By participating in the Victor Run, you acknowledge that all decisions made by the race organizers are final, binding, and non-challengeable except at the sole discretion of the race organizers.

You also completely, absolutely, in entirety, forever, and in perpetuity release the race organizers – as well as individuals and organizations including but not necessarily limited to Gennady Stolyarov II, Victor Bjoerk, the United States Transhumanist Party, SENS Research Foundation, Lifespan.io, LongeCity, or any member or Officer of any of the aforementioned organizations – from any and all liability associated, or conceivably associated in any manner or under any legal theory or set of arguments in any jurisdiction whatsoever, with your participation in the Victor Run or in any other run. You agree that your donation to any longevity research organization that you choose to support is a worthwhile contribution in its own right and is not refundable under any circumstances, irrespective of whether you choose to complete the Victor Run or the outcome of that run.

You agree that running is a potentially risky activity and that running a virtual race entails hazards that vary depending on the environment, the weather, time of day, the health and fitness of the athlete, the behavior of other individuals, vehicular traffic, and numerous other conceivable circumstances. It is entirely your responsibility to take appropriate precautions to minimize or reduce these hazards. You agree to take full and complete responsibility for your health and safety during the course of this run and specifically acknowledge that the virtual race format does not allow the race organizers to provide any medical or other health-related support to you. Neither the race organizers nor any party mentioned above have any power to prevent any adverse outcomes to you, and as such you alone have the ability and the responsibility to run in a manner that would lower the probability of such adverse outcomes.

You also agree that it is your sole responsibility as an individual to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and requirements that may pertain to your decision to run in any particular location. Neither the race organizers nor any party mentioned above have any responsibility or oversight regarding your choice of running location.

You agree that all final race results and point totals will be published along with the names, ages, and genders of the individuals participating in the Victor Run. You acknowledge that this is standard practice for running races, and you consent to the public disclosure of this information without reservation.

2020 RACE RESULTS

The United States Transhumanist Party (USTP) is pleased to announce that its first-ever virtual running race, the Victor Run 2020, has come to a successful conclusion with 29 runners participating and $1,290 raised to help longevity researcher Victor Bjoerk relocate to a paid research position with Ichor Therapeutics in Syracuse, New York. This virtual race has inspired numerous runners to undertake bold and challenging feats during the weekend of June 5-7, 2020, for the advancement of longevity, health, and fitness. Victor Bjoerk himself participated in the race and ran his first marathon, self-supported – a great achievement! Congratulations to Victor and to all of the runners for taking part in this experiment. All participants will be rewarded with custom finisher medals, which were sent to participants in late June 2020.

This race embodied the goal of indefinite longevity by setting no limit on how long participants could run. Indeed, it was a race that rewarded the most persistent! The scoring for the race relied on a unique metric that combined distance, speed, and elevation gain in a manner that gave any participant the opportunity to win with sufficient determination.

We congratulate the top 3 finishers in each gender category:

First-Place Male and Overall – David Ravarino
Second-Place Male and Overall – Chris Badolato
Third-Place Male and Overall – Bill Andrews

First-Place Female – Jess Haltom
Second-Place Female – Carla Katz
Third-Place Female – Karen Carlson

Overall Race Standings

Top 3 Finishers – Overall/Male and Female

Male Finishers

Female Finishers

HISTORICAL RACE INFORMATION

Please join the Victor Run 2020 Facebook event page and Strava club.

The Victor Run virtual race is organized to support one of the most prolific researchers in the longevity community, molecular biologist Victor Bjoerk, during a time of need. Because of the COVID-19 lockdown in the San Francisco Bay area, Victor – who is there on a visa from Sweden – lost his internship at an aging-research company. Originally, the Victor Run was intended to provide funding for Victor’s position with OpenCures.

With an absence of physical racing events, virtual races have attracted increased interest. We also think that virtual races should be interesting experiences with unique premises that take advantage of the virtual format and give people more than they could get just by deciding to run outside. Hence, the Victor Run was designed with a premise unlike any other race – and one that embodies the event’s goal of pursuing longevity.

However, in an exciting development, Victor was hired for a research position with biotechnology company Ichor Therapeutics in Syracuse, New York, one of the leading organizations pursuing aspects of the SENS approach to rejuvenation biotechnology. Funds raised thus far will help Victor with his moving expenses on short notice and will be put to good use. This fortunate development means that the Victor Run no longer has to rely on fundraising. Instead, we will turn this event into a celebration of Victor’s achievements and of longevity research generally. We will open participation to all runners for free, while guaranteeing finisher medals to everyone who has donated.

51 finisher medals will be created in all, with approximately 20 reserved for runners whose entries were purchased via donations. The remaining medals will be awarded to the top finishers based on the unique scoring system developed for this run.

The Rules

1. Run any distance of your choosing, in any location of your choosing, at any time during June 5 through June 7, 2020.

Track your run using any GPS-enabled application that has a public link to your activity. Make sure to set your activity to be publicly viewable, so that the results can be validated in compiling the race statistics.

Submit your results via the form here or via e-mail here. On Strava, tag your run as the Victor Run 2020 or use the hashtag #VictorRun2020 if you would like recognition that way.

2. Everyone who previously donated and runs any distance during June 5-7 will earn a custom finisher medal around late June 2020.

Also, individuals in the top 30 places using the scoring system for the run will earn a custom finisher medal.

Individuals who score in the top three in terms of the unique point system developed for this race will earn special awards in addition to the finisher medal.

NOTE: International shipments may take longer because of recent disruptions. We appreciate your patience, and will try to get the medal to you as soon as this is logistically feasible.

All donations made thus far will go to support Victor (minus any unavoidable PayPal processing fees). All costs of the race and awards will be absorbed by the organizers.

Scoring

Your run will be scored according to the following metrics. You can make this a fast run or a slower, longer run – a flat run or a run with significant elevation gain. Because the goal of the fundraiser is to support longevity research, there will be no limit to how long or how far you can run. If you started running during the June 5-7 timeframe but are somehow still running past that timeframe (because three days are not enough for you), we can even accommodate your submission of that result.