Running league scoring and handicaps
Your best run earns the main part of your weekly score. A bowling-style handicap levels the playing field so you can compete for the win at your pace. Each qualifying run also adds a participation point. Your team’s top four weekly scores count.
How a run earns points
Run score = distance points + pace points.
- Distance: 20 points for each whole mile, up to nine miles. A 3.4-mile run earns 60 distance points; the next whole mile brings the next 20.
- Pace: 10 points for each minute your average pace is under 20 minutes per mile. Partial minutes count: a 10:30 pace earns 95 pace points.
| Run | Distance points | Pace points | Run score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 miles at 12:00/mi | 60 | 80 | 140 |
| 3.4 miles at 10:30/mi | 60 | 95 | 155 |
| 5 miles at 10:00/mi | 100 | 100 | 200 |
The distance portion stops increasing after nine whole miles. Pace still uses the average over the recorded run. There are no elevation points.
Your weekly contribution
Weekly score = best qualifying run score + handicap + number of qualifying runs.
Suppose your run scores for the week are 140, 155 and 150, and your handicap is 24. Your contribution is 155 + 24 + 3 = 182 points. The three run scores are not added together.
A fourth qualifying run worth 145 points takes your contribution to 183. A fourth run worth 160 takes it to 188, because it also replaces your best run. If you have no qualifying run that week, your contribution is zero; the handicap alone does not score.
How the bowling-style handicap works
Your baseline describes your usual best-run performance. At the monthly recalculation, the league averages your best run scores from the weeks you ran in the completed month. It sets a comparison basis two points above the strongest baseline.
Handicap = 80% of the gap between that basis and your baseline, with a minimum of zero. Your handicap stays fixed for the month, so a better run can improve your contribution during that month.
For example, with a basis of 202 points, a runner whose baseline is 150 receives 41.6 handicap points. A runner whose baseline is 200 receives 1.6. If each runs exactly at their baseline, they reach 191.6 and 201.6 before participation points. Now suppose the first runner improves their run score to 161 while the second runs at 200. Their adjusted scores become 202.6 versus 201.6: with the same participation points, the runner with the lower baseline wins this comparison. That is the opportunity the handicap creates.
A newcomer starts with a provisional baseline of 20 points and a handicap calculated from the other runners’ baselines. Monthly recalculation then uses their recorded running. If a runner has no new qualifying weeks in the completed month, their previous baseline is retained, with a minimum of 20.
The best four of five count
If five teammates contribute 260, 250, 240, 230 and 220 points, the team score is 260 + 250 + 240 + 230 = 980. The lowest contribution is left out of the main score.
Weekly matchups compare rounded team totals. If those tie, the total of all teammates’ contributions, including the fifth score, is the tiebreaker. If that also ties after rounding, the match is a tie.
What counts as a qualifying run?
- A session recorded as running or treadmill running.
- Usable distance and duration, covering at least one mile.
- Average pace faster than 20 minutes per mile.
- Recorded data that passes the league’s plausibility and running-effort checks.
A missing heart-rate reading does not automatically disqualify a run. When heart-rate data is available, the league can use it alongside your running history to check the effort. Runs that don’t qualify add no run score or participation point, and carry no points penalty.
If your run hasn’t arrived, start with the setup for your phone. Android runners can use the Health Connect guide. For team placement and the weekly rhythm, read how the league works.