Transcon FAQ

The Transcon runs 3,361 miles across the USA in five regions, one per GVRAT year. Track everyone’s progress on the Transcon dashboard.

Ways to complete the Transcon

I haven’t done a GVRAT since 2024. Can I start now?

Yes. The Great Virtual Race Across The States (GVRAT) consists of the five sections shown above. Each GVRAT runs from May 1 through September 30. 2024 was the first year, and the next one is GVRAT 2027 (Region 4).

The original intention was that a participant would compete in GVRAT for five years, and in the process complete a transcon across the USA. Many individuals chose to keep going after finishing a GVRAT and signed on for the next region, and the one after that. These regions are referred to as “Transcon R2”, “Transcon R3”, and so on.

New participants should start with GVRAT 2027 (R4). When you finish it, you can go back to Transcon R1 and work through R1, R2 and R3 at your own pace. Over time you can catch up to the others, because there is no end date for the different Transcon regions until December 30, 2028.

What’s the difference between GVRAT and the Transcon? What do I get in each?

GVRAT follows in the tradition of the GVRATs that began in 2020. We started with the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee, then the Great Virtual Race Along the Trace, and now the Great Virtual Race Across The States. GVRAT is a race run against everyone else in the race, and tracked daily on the GVRAT dashboard.

You receive the new shirt each year, the tracking, the milepost emails from Laz’s adventures on his transcon (the path we’re following), and when you finish before October 1, you earn that year’s finisher’s buckle. In addition, regardless of when you finish the section within the timeframe, you earn the two medals/puzzle pieces for that section. The puzzle pieces can be displayed on the wooden map of the USA (order the display map here, sold separately).

The Transcon: the different sections can be done one after the other as you choose. There are no date limits on completion until December 30, 2028. A Transcon region costs less because you don’t receive a shirt or the finisher’s buckle for that region. You do earn the two Transcon medals/puzzle pieces for each region, for display on your map if you choose to buy one.

What if I’m running in a Transcon region and now it’s time to run GVRAT?

Since you are running ahead of the current GVRAT section, if you choose to take part in GVRAT and receive its amenities, you’ll need to sign up for that year’s GVRAT and enter your miles there instead of in the Transcon region you are currently in. The miles entered in GVRAT are added to your Transcon mileage and tracked separately. (The GVRAT miles you log in RunSignup will not appear under your Transcon region in RunSignup.) We track the results in the backend and publish them on the Transcon dashboard. This saves you from adding your activities to two different events.

Where do I log my miles?

I completed GVRAT 2026 and registered for GVRAT 2027. From May 1, 2027, enter your activities under GVRAT 2027.

I completed GVRAT 2026 and continued with the Transcon. I just want to continue my Transcon journey. Enter your activities under your current Transcon region.

I’m in the middle of a Transcon region but want to do GVRAT 2027, and I’ve registered for it. Keep logging under your Transcon region until April 30. Starting May 1, log activities only under GVRAT 2027.

Scenario 1: I just want to do GVRAT each year

Register for the current year’s GVRAT and log the required miles by September 30. You log your activities on RunSignup and track your results on the GVRAT dashboard.

Registration gets you the current year’s shirt, the finisher buckle if you finish before October 1, and the Transcon medals/puzzle pieces for the current year regardless of when you finish the region.

Come back the following year for that year’s GVRAT and repeat. By 2028, you will have completed the Transcon.

If you miss a GVRAT, you can go back and pick up that section of the Transcon by registering for the matching Transcon region after you finish the current year’s GVRAT.

For example, if you’re starting with GVRAT 2027 (R4), after you finish, go back and do Transcon R1, then R2 and R3. You won’t get the buckle or shirt, but you’ll get the Transcon medals/puzzle pieces to display on your wooden map (sold separately).

Scenario 2: I completed this year’s GVRAT and want to keep entering miles

Register for the next Transcon region. For example, after completing GVRAT 2026 (R3) by logging 679 miles, register for Transcon R4. These screenshots are from 2024, when the next region was R2, but the steps are the same.

Then log your miles for that region: search for your name under “Find a Participant” and click Log Activities next to the Transcon region. Here’s an example.

When you complete that region, you can register for the next one and log activities under it.

Scenario 3: I did not complete GVRAT 2026 by September 30 and want to keep entering miles

Keep entering miles for GVRAT 2026 (Transcon R3) until you reach the goal distance of 679 miles. When you finish, you get the Transcon Region 3 finisher medal.

Then register for Transcon Region 4 and log activities under Region 4, as shown in Scenario 2.

I kept logging miles in GVRAT 2026 / R3 past the goal. What do I do?

If you kept entering miles in GVRAT 2026 / R3 past the goal distance of 679 miles, don’t worry. All your miles count towards the Transcon. Check your status on the Transcon dashboard.

For example, if your Transcon status says “R4 In Progress”, register for Transcon R4 and enter your miles there. That way you get your finisher award for R4 when you complete it.

The tricky scenario: midway through a Transcon region when GVRAT starts

This example follows a runner through 2024 and 2025. The same rules apply every year.

Let’s say Sam completed GVRAT 2024 / Transcon Region 1 on July 15, 2024, and got the GVRAT buckle and the Transcon Region 1 medal.

• Sam wants to keep going, so registers for Transcon Region 2 and starts logging miles.
• On January 15, 2025, Sam reaches 678 miles (the Region 2 goal) and completes Transcon Region 2.
• Sam registers for Transcon Region 3 and starts logging activities there.
• It’s May 1, 2025, and Sam wants to keep the GVRAT streak going by registering for GVRAT 2025.

Some of you will be in this situation. Sam registers for GVRAT 2025. Since Sam is midway through Region 3, Sam keeps entering activities under Region 3 until April 30, 2025. Let’s say that’s 350 miles (the Region 3 goal is 679). On May 1, Sam starts entering miles under GVRAT 2025.

You do not enter mileage in two events. Only one event at any point in time. No double dipping!

Sam logs the goal distance of 678 miles and finishes GVRAT 2025 on August 31, 2025, then wants to continue with the Transcon. Sam’s total so far is 2,378 miles:

That puts Sam in Region 4: the GVRAT 2025 miles were enough to finish the Region 3 that Sam stopped midway through, and the rest count towards Region 4.

Checking against the cumulative miles in the table at the top, Sam has completed 2,378 of the 2,697 miles needed to finish Region 4. So after GVRAT 2025, Sam registers for Transcon Region 4 and logs 319 miles (2,697 − 2,378) there to complete it.

Sam completes Region 4 on November 1, 2025, then registers for Transcon Region 5 and completes it by February 1, 2026 to finish the Transcon.

Sam can still enter GVRAT 2026, 2027 and 2028 to keep the GVRAT streak going and receive those shirts and buckles.