ELEVATION COMPENSATION
First of all, if you enjoy running, you're a runner. It doesn't matter how far or how fast you go. Some of us like to run on flat and fast paved routes. Some of us prefer to escape life's hustle and run on trails or on top of mountains. Others prefer the convenience of the treadmill. Wherever you choose to run is perfectly fine with us. In fact, you don't need to run at all; you can walk the entire distance and we will be equally proud of you. Walking this far takes discipline and commitment, just like running.
However, we think it is fair to say that some runs are physically more demanding than others. One of the main factors that can make a run/walk more challenging also plays a major role in space exploration- GRAVITY. Running up a hill is hard work. The bigger the hill, the more effort it takes to get up. The energy used to run 5 km up a mountain is greater than the energy used to run 5 km around a track. This isn't a matter of opinion but rather, physics.
We are hoping to reach runners from across North America and even beyond. Some participants could be running amongst the Rocky Mountains or on the Appalachian Trail. Some may be conquering 14'ers in the thin air of Colorado. Others may be running along the Seawall in Vancouver or along the scenic Queen's Quay Waterfront Trail in Toronto. Some may take in the ocean views along the rolling hills of the East Coast. We want you to run where you love to run rather than just focusing on covering the distance. To do this, we have created a system to help account for the added difficulty of running routes with significant elevation gain.
We have scoured the internet to determine how elevation gain can be converted into distance travelled (in terms of effort expenditure). It turns out that there isn't an exact formula since there are simply too many factors at play, however, we have settled on the following:
100m/328' of elevation is roughly equivalent to 1 km/.62 miles of distance
This means that someone that travels 10 km/ 6.2 miles with 100m/328' of elevation gain used a similar amount of effort as they would have running 11 km/6.8 miles on a flat route without any elevation gain. We are going to allow you to count that extra distance in your total. We believe that this is a fair way to account for the added difficulty that elevation gain provides so now you don't necessarily have to find the flattest route around in order to maximize the distance you can travel within a set amount of time. Go ahead, run up that mountain or set your treadmill to max incline if that's what you want to do. There is no real advantage to doing so but it also won't create a significant disadvantage (other than perhaps some additional quad/calf soreness, which, unfortunately, we can't help you with). Wherever you want to run, we're cool with it. It's not a perfect solution but we think it's fair.
If you don't want to keep track of your elevation gain, then don't. No problem. It's not mandatory but rather an option for those of you who live in a hilly region. Don't worry, we will very clearly explain the exact rules for accounting for elevation gain on the "results" page, where you will regularly add your run details.
